By Eirian Jane Prosser and Rory Tingle Home Affairs Correspondent
19:43 12 May 2023, upgraded 20:13 12 May 2023
- Tom Somerset-How was abused by his better half, Sarah, and her enthusiast George Webb
The awful story of a handicapped man who was put behind bars in a squalor house from hell by his better half while she had an affair with his male carer was laid bare today in court.
Tom Somerset-How, who has spastic paralysis and is partly blind, was delegated live like a dog, hardly being kept alive at the hands of his better half Sarah, 49, and her enthusiast George Webb, 50.
The wicked couple, who coped with Tom at his home in Chichester, West Sussex, utilized the 40-year-old as a ‘golden goose’ splurging his advantage payments on underwear and DJ equipment; leaving him alone as they went on weekends away to see Take That performances or Manchester United video games.
Today, in what is the very first modern-day slavery case of its kind to be generated Britain, the set who utilized Tom ‘like a piece of property’ were founded guilty of slavery.
As they were founded guilty, Tom was conquered with feeling while his moms and dads John and Helen, his twin sibling Kate and his older bro Ben cheered from the general public gallery.
It had actually brought completion to what had actually been a troubling couple of years for the family considering that Tom’s ex-Holby city star sibling Kate discovered him depending on dirt after being dealt with by his better half and carer ‘like a piece of property’.
Tom was born too soon into a rich family where he matured in West Sussex.
He had actually established spastic paralysis as an outcome of his early birth, an illness which his mom Helen Somerset-How, has actually devoted 3 years of her life to assisting other kids and grownups with the illness.
Mrs Somerset-How established The Rainbow Centre for Conductive Education in 1990 when Tom would have been simply 7 years of ages.
The centre assists those with Cerebral Palsy establish abilities for those
The work Mrs Somerset-How does saw her granted with an MBE for her devoted work, while at home all 3 of her kids went onto succeed.
‘Intelligent’ Tom finished from the University of Chichester with a degree in History, his older bro Ben Somerset-Holmes went on to end up being director of a New York based style company, while his twin sibling Kate Somerset-Holmes ended up being a well-known British starlet, officially starring in Holby City.
It remained in 2008, when Tom fulfilled his future life, Sarah. He had actually finished from university and was living in protected accommodation where he was recuperating from surgical treatment.
Two years later on they transferred to a purpose-built cottage in Chichester, West Sussex in 2010 and were provided 24-hour care spent for by social services throughout the week.
Webb then showed up as his carer in 2016, with all 3 of them residing in your house, prior to this ended up being a personal care service at the rate of £4,000 a month.
The set left Tom in bed 90 percent of the time and chose an entire year without brushing his teeth.
He would be entrusted to just a package of crisps and a sandwich, while the set performed their strategy to ‘ostracise’ him from his family.
It was his mom and sibling, who is now a star on the West End, who rupture into the unclean house to discover Tom ‘disorientated’ and ‘extremely, extremely thin’ at 6st 10lbs (43kg).
Horrific images taken in 2018 program Tom in bed with a Manchester United t-shirt on, unshaven, with long hair, and without his glasses.
Another picture reveals the 40-year-old’s hand hanging off his bed with long, uncut nails.
Mrs Somerset-Holmes, who played Miss Hannigan in the West End production of Annie and who has actually appeared in Silent Witness, took a picture of his dirty bedside light and unclean living-room table, which was cluttered with football mugs, a complete ashtray and a mill.
More pictures were taken when he was rescued in 2020, with Tom depending on bed without any bed mattress on one side and clothing stacked all over.
After a four-week trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, jurors pondered for a little bit more than 12 hours prior to finding Webb and Somerset-How guilty of holding an individual in slavery or yoke.
Webb was likewise founded guilty of ill-treatment by a care employee while Somerset-How, an executive assistant who has actually worked for accountancy company KPMG and attorneys Irwin Mitchell, has actually been founded guilty of helping and abetting him from 2018 to 2020.
However, both were cleared of charges relating to supposed ill treatment prior to 2017. Webb was condemned of ABH after an event where he struck Tom with a shoe.
The decision comes as dreadful pictures reveal the unclean conditions Tom was required to reside in prior to he was found.
Somerset-How was discovered not guilty of scams and theft over claims she had actually ‘ransacked’ £12,000 of her other half’s inheritance.
Watching from the general public gallery, Tom’s family cheered with each guilty decision, while he was conquered with feeling. He was signed up with by his moms and dads, John and Helen, his twin sibling Kate, his older bro Ben and a family friend to support him.
There was no response from Somerset-How, using a leopard print gown, and Webb, who used an Adidas tracksuit, as the decisions were provided – with both plunged in their chairs.
After the decisions were provided, Tom said: ‘I am extremely happy with the decision. Justice has actually been served.
‘I want to thank my attorneys, witness care, CPS, and the law enforcement officer who have actually been especially thorough in preparing all the proof to bring this case to light.
‘I would likewise like to thank my family for their continuous assistance through this extremely challenging duration.’
According to district attorneys, the slavery case is the very first of its kind, as the charge typically uses to victims who have actually been trafficked from abroad or required to work for no pay.
In this case, district attorneys argued that by being cut off from his family and by utilizing his funds, the overlook was so bad Tom was in result being dealt with like a servant at his home in Chichester, West Sussex.
Rejecting the defence application to dismiss the slavery charge midway through the trial, Judge William Ashworth concluded: ‘There is sufficient proof that Tom was held as if he was a livestock or animal.’
During the trial, district attorney Paul Cavin KC said the couple took ‘overall control over his life, simply as you would with a dog’.
‘He was significantly ostracised,’ he said. ‘He was not simply ignored. He was not simply abused. He was dealt with like a piece of property. They looked for to separate him from loved ones.
‘He was not permitted to call individuals without among them existing. He was their golden goose.
‘Every element of his life was managed. His staying self-reliance he had actually was removed from him by the offenders.
‘He could not dismiss his carer who was abusing him, and his better half would not step in or help him due to the fact that she was having an affair.
‘He ended up being a detainee in his own home. He was completely depending on his abusers to survive.’
In texts read out to the court, Webb composed: ‘Get rid of him. Go discover yourself a man. I believe you require to leave Tom and get your life back.’
And Mrs Somerset-How messaged Webb about taking money from her other half’s account, mentioning: ‘Remember, we are simply utilizing him.’
Former coworkers of Mrs Somerset-How from Oxfordshire-based non-profit farming business CABI informed the court she chose Webb to view Manchester United football video games and Take That performances – and left her other half behind.
The jury heard Mrs Somerset-How had actually likewise purchased a Michael Kors purse utilizing her other half’s money.
Giving proof, Mr Somerset-How informed the court: ‘They would disappear together on weekends, and I would be left alone with a bottle of squash for as much as 12 hours.
‘I would have a urine bottle which would not be cleared till Sarah got home.
‘There were several times when I simply could not hold it. There were days when I needed to remain there in it till Sarah came home to arrange me out.’
The court heard how Tom fulfilled his better half in 2008 through among her work buddies while he was residing in protected accommodation and recuperating from surgical treatment.
They moved into a purpose-built cottage in Chichester, West Sussex in 2010 and were provided 24-hour care spent for by social services throughout the week.
Webb then showed up as his carer in 2016, with all 3 of them residing in your house, prior to this ended up being a personal care service at the rate of £4,000 a month.
The set left Tom in bed for 90 percent of the time and chose an entire year without brushing his teeth.
He would be entrusted to just a package of crisps and a sandwich, while the set performed their strategy to ‘ostracise’ him from his family.
Mrs Somerset-Holmes, a theatre star who likewise played Miss Hannigan in the West End production of Annie, informed jurors she discovered her bro ‘disorientated and extremely, extremely thin’.
‘The bed room was revolting,’ she said. ‘It was dim, and the drapes were drawn. Tom remained in bed and appeared baffled and disorientated. He wasn’t using his glasses.
‘There were clothing and boxes all over. There were stacks of clothing on Sarah’s side of the bed, and his wheelchair was folded with things on top of it.
‘I went directly to Tom’s bedside, and I raised him. He smelt awful, like he had not cleaned in weeks. I asked him if he had a mishap in bed due to the fact that the odor of urine was so strong. I asked him when he last washed, and he didn’t understand.
‘Tom was extremely, extremely thin. His nails were long, and his hair was oily. He had not been shaved in weeks. I asked if he was alright, however he certainly wasn’t. In hindsight that was a ridiculous concern.
‘I asked Tom if it was alright to take pictures, and I did. My moms and dads required to understand the condition he was being kept in. The dust on the bedside light was so thick it appeared like snow. It was revolting.’
Mrs Somerset-Holmes said that in the added to her check out, she knocked at the home two times a day for 5 days, however nobody ever pertained to the door and the drapes would be shut ‘all the time’.
Eventually, she parked down the roadway and strolled to the door, which is when Mrs Somerset-How lastly addressed. But the starlet said the lady just unlocked a ‘fracture’ and she wasn’t allow.
The starlet informed jurors: ‘I consistently knocked on the door, however it went unanswered. I attempted to see in your house, however the drapes were closed.
‘This would be all the time, early mornings and afternoons. I never ever saw the blinds open. They understood I was concerning your house, and I would be around all week. I was calling, no reply.
‘I contacted advance. I texted Tom a lot, and no reply. On my last day, I chose I would assail them due to the fact that I thought I was being overlooked, and I was worried. I parked down the roadway and strolled to your house, and Sarah unlocked.
‘She unlocked simply a fracture so I might see her face. This had to do with 3 pm. I observed a great deal of cigarette smoke, and I marvelled due to the fact that Tom does not smoke, and I was frustrated they were cigarette smoking due to the fact that I didn’t believe it benefited Tom.
‘I inquired about it and if I might see Tom. Sarah said he remained in bed. I revealed my issue that Tom remained in bed in the middle of the day, and this was a pattern. He was constantly in bed.’
In December 2018, Mrs Somerset-Holmes said she lastly got to see her bro, who had not been seen by his family for 2 years.
She informed the court: ‘I was home for a year prior to disappearing once again, and I visited my moms and dads. I provided Christmas provides early due to the fact that I was disappearing for 3 months doing programs, and I wasn’t visiting Tom for a very long time.
‘I parked down the roadway and knocked on the door, and George opened it. This was the very first time I had actually ever seen him. I explained I was Tom’s twin sibling and I was disappearing for a couple of months. My other half and I had actually driven down together.
‘George hesitated. I attempted extremely tough to be convincing and extremely courteous, and he let me in. I was extremely shocked.
‘My impression of your house was that it was squalid. Bowls were stacked all over. It smelled extremely highly of cigarette smoke and cannabis. The house was dim, and the drapes were shut.
‘I presumed properly that Tom would remain in bed, so I went there. George went to the lounge to make a telephone call.
‘George was on the phone to Sarah, stating there were individuals in your house, stating ‘you require to get home now’. It didn’t feel safe. The just thing I might do was leave and leave Tom there.
‘I spoke with George, and I was extremely courteous to him. I was stressed he would hurt Tom if I informed him how revolting it was. I was stressed for Tom’s safety.’
Under the prosecution’s interrogation of Mrs Somerset-How, Paul Cavin KC asked her about the pictures Mrs Somerset-Holmes took of your house.
She said: ‘There was some dust and some cleaning which had not been put away that day.
‘I would cut Tom’s nails. His nails grew extremely rapidly and it was challenging to cut them due to the fact that he had convulsions.
‘I would attempt after every shower, Tom would also. We tried with a nail file. There was always an attempt to cut his nails but Tom would say ‘don’t worry, leave them, we will attempt again later’.’
Giving evidence, Tom told the court Webb was a ‘really good carer’ at first and there were ‘absolutely no issues’, however within a year things quickly declined.
Over time, small changes meant he felt it ‘became harder to request help’ for things like going to the toilet.
He said: ‘When I asked for help, he would do it really quickly, like it was a chore.’
When asked by prosecutor Paul Cavin KC why he didn’t complain to Webb’s agency, he said ‘afterwards I would be barraged by abuse’.
He continued: ‘I would go entire weeks without getting out of bed, except for when I desperately needed the toilet. At one point, I went for five weeks in bed.
‘I would have to text Sarah when she was at work to ask if she could help me to the toilet when she got home. I would have a urine bottle which wouldn’t be emptied until Sarah got home.
‘There were multiple times when I just couldn’t hold it. There were days when I had to stay there in it until Sarah came home to sort me out.
‘I told Sarah this wasn’t acceptable, but she would just shrug. Sarah said George had the two of us over a barrel. She didn’t elaborate.
‘They would shut the curtains to stop people from seeing in. They would be shut all day. I felt like it was no longer my house.’
He also told how he suspected Webb and his wife were having an affair after he heard ‘sounds’ and texted Mrs Somerset-How to ask ‘what was going on’.
But Tom received a reply from Webb telling him to ‘go back to sleep’ and they were ‘just discussing’ his care.
He also said the pair would ‘go away together on weekends’ and leave him with only a ‘bottle of squash’ for up to 12 hours.
Tom told the jury about the moment he stopped receiving visitors at home.
He said: ‘At one point, my mum came round to drop off a duvet in an unexpected visit.
‘Webb lost it completely. He was screaming at her. From what I heard, it sounded like he was in her face, screaming at her for five minutes.
‘After she left, he came straight in and said, ‘no one is ever coming over once again. Not even for a cup of tea’.’
During this time, Tom said Webb threw a shoe at him in anger.
He told the jury: ‘George got really angry. I didn’t see what he threw because I shut my eyes, but it felt like a shoe.
‘Sarah was there in the room and just got me a cold, wet tea towel to hold against my face. I still have a small indentation where it hit me.’
On another occasion, he said Webb dragged him into the shower and sprayed water on him until he was ‘gasping’.
Somerset-How and Webb will be sentenced later on this year.
