Man from Iver sentenced to three years and fined £10,000 for servitude

On Friday 26th September 2014 a man was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment a conviction of servitude, in what is thought to be one of the first convictions of its kind in England. He was also given a £10,000 fine.

The 25 year old man of Holly Bush Lane in Iver, was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court. He was convicted on 16th September 2014 by unanimous verdict at Aylesbury Crown Court sitting at Amersham Law Courts.

Between 1 January 2013 and 16 May 2013 the convicted man held a 30 year old man and a 43 year old man by coercion to make them provide work and services for him and his family.

The offence took place in Holly Bush Lane in Iver, Buckinghamshire and the victims indicated that they had been forced to work for over a year.

The man was charged on 19th December 2013.

Supt Steve Hockin, Area Commander for Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire police area said ‘Whilst these offences are rare the fact that they often take place behind closed doors makes them difficult to discover. I would encourage anyone with suspicions of similar activities to contact the police confident that we will take any accusation seriously.‘