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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... w_06092006





Woman 'forced to work naked as domestic slave'



By Paul Stokes

(Filed: 06/09/2006)

A young woman was starved while being held captive by her sister-in-law and forced to work naked for nine months as a domestic slave, a court was told yesterday.

Veronica Sandeman, 26, said she was too frightened to fight back as she was subjected to prolonged mental and physical torture by Antonia Pearson-Gaballonie.

She finally escaped after her tormentor hacked off her hair, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her, York Crown Court heard.



Miss Sandeman had turned to her soldier brother, Steven, for support as a teenager while having a difficult relationship with her divorced parents in Scotland.

She went with him and Pearson–Gaballonie, 35, who has Addison's Disease and needed a wheelchair then, to work as their nanny when he was posted to York in 1997.

The couple had a baby, two children from Pearson-Gaballonie's previous relationship, and went on to marry and have a second child of their own. But, when Steven Sandeman was posted to Wiltshire, his wife refused to move and Miss Sandeman was left with her and the children.

Pearson-Gaballonie soon started a relationship with another man, had another child in 2001 and Steven Sandeman stopped visiting them altogether by the end of 2002.

The court heard that Pearson-Gaballonie now "firmly ruled" the house and Miss Sandeman, who was isolated from her family, with no friends, was looking after all five children.

She told the jury: "If I had not cleaned the house to her standard or if I answered back I would get punched in the face or slapped or kicked. I got hit with a black studded belt and sometimes it was a wooden rolling pin with handles on it.

"She would grab my hair and start banging my head against the floor and she would hit me in the face and stomach and chest. I was too frightened to fight back."

The court heard that Pearson-Gaballonie confiscated all Miss Sandeman's clothes about nine months before she escaped. The prosecution said it resulted in her "becoming a prisoner in the house".

She was forced to clean the house while completely naked in front of six children and Pearson-Gaballonie's second husband, Neil Pearson.

Miss Sandeman said: "She told me to take all my clothes off and put them in a black bag. She went upstairs and got the rest of my clothes and said she was going to burn them."

She also said she had been forced to beg for food after her brother left and Pearson had moved in.

She described being allowed to wear clothes as a one-off to go to Pearson's parents' home for dinner on Christmas Day 2004. "It went down very well because before that I hadn't had anything to eat for three weeks," she said. "I wasn't allowed to take food and I didn't like the idea of asking."

But Miss Sandeman said that she was attacked by Pearson-Gaballonie that night and was beaten on her bare back and shoulders with a studded leather belt because the house was not cleaned properly.

She said Pearson pinned her arms above her head while Pearson-Gaballonie used scissors to cut clumps of hair from her head, jabbing the scissors into her face.

Pearson-Gaballonie then held a serrated kitchen knife to her throat and told her: "No one would care if you were dead."

Three days later she found some of Pearson's old clothes in the garage and put them on before running to a neighbour's house for help.

She was taken to hospital and Pearson-Gaballonie was arrested.

Andrew Kershaw, prosecuting, said the first physical attack took place on New Year's Eve 2002 when Miss Sandeman sneaked out of the house to call her parents.

Pearson-Gaballonie is alleged to have punched her so hard in the face her cheek burst and to have snapped the SIM card in her mobile phone to prevent her making calls.

Mr Kershaw told the jury: "You may see a pattern of domestic slavery emerging. Veronica was expected to clean the whole house."

Pearson-Gaballonie denies false imprisonment, making threats to kill and six counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Pearson denies aiding and abetting an assault. The hearing continues.

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006.



I'm sure I'd have got out of there naked or not.

flopstock wrote: I get the feeling that we are missing something here...


I was going to put this under Bizarre News Stories. There is a 1% possibility there's nothing else to it though.

She was so mentally tortured that she felt she *could not* escape.

That is just terrible. :-1

I agree she was tormented, and held hostage for sure.. Just makes my stomach turn to think wacko's are out there like this..

Nice brother she had, to abandon his kids and sister to the psycho.

i actually have just moved into the house where this all happened. I had no idea of the history of what went on until the electricians told us when i moved in!

We have a room upstairs that has steps leading to the attic. When opened up the attic, there was proof that somebody had lived up there, so we think thats where the woman was made to sleep.

The attic has now been locked as the history of this house saddens me and i have to live there

Im just trying to read up on what happened as i have only been told parts of different stories.

OpenMind;387773 wrote: I was going to put this under Bizarre News Stories. There is a 1% possibility there's nothing else to it though.


I would take a guess that the woman in question, (the slave) has some mental and emotional problems that aided her in becoming a victim. Any woman with a thimbleful of common sense would have simply wrapped a bed sheet or curtain around herself and left the house. But if she had no where to go this may have added to the problem.

The mentality of the other 2 is beyond my comprehension. There is something very,very wrong with any woman who forces another woman to run around the house naked in front of children and her man. I think that what is needed is a whack of psychiatrists for all of them.

Amber Sun;1132214 wrote: I would take a guess that the woman in question, (the slave) has some mental and emotional problems that aided her in becoming a victim. Any woman with a thimbleful of common sense would have simply wrapped a bed sheet or curtain around herself and left the house. But if she had no where to go this may have added to the problem.

The mentality of the other 2 is beyond my comprehension. There is something very,very wrong with any woman who forces another woman to run around the house naked in front of children and her man. I think that what is needed is a whack of psychiatrists for all of them.


Whew... thats quite an assumption there.

Fear alone is enough to make any person a 'victim'.

Betty Boop;1132238 wrote: Whew... thats quite an assumption there.

Fear alone is enough to make any person a 'victim'.


It takes time for real fear to set in. The average person would have left at the first sign of real problems. Some people have less fortitude than others and these ones are easily victimized. Those individuals with mental or emotional problems even more so.

Many individuals react to fear with aggression, sometimes even deadly aggression. So your statement above is wrong.

When I stated that psychiatrists should be involved with all of them I meant exactly that. The aggressors most definitely need them and after going through what the victim has she needs help also.

Amber Sun;1132272 wrote: It takes time for real fear to set in. The average person would have left at the first sign of real problems. Some people have less fortitude than others and these ones are easily victimized. Those individuals with mental or emotional problems even more so.

Many individuals react to fear with aggression, sometimes even deadly aggression. So your statement above is wrong.

When I stated that psychiatrists should be involved with all of them I meant exactly that. The aggressors most definitely need them and after going through what the victim has she needs help also.


They wouldn't have started with the threats straight away, everything would have appeared normal. The average person would not actually notice the changes taking place in their lives that would then render them isolated and alone, abusers gradually increase their power until they have a hold over you.

Isolation - another abusers gradual take over tactic, this woman was isolated, she would have no doubt been reminded daily how grateful she should be for the abusers 'friendship' and support. She would have been broken down gradually until she felt herself a pretty worthless human being. At that point the abusers have complete control.

If 'many individuals react to fear with aggression' why are our domestic abuse figures so high? These abused individuals would simply fight back each and every time according to your statement... they don't!!

We have an inbuilt fight or flight instinct, many of us do actually choose the flight route, this can take time and a huge amount of courage to eventually do, the reason being due to the threats that have been made, when you take flight you need to ensure you make it to safety.

I don't dispute that all parties involved need the help of a psychiatrist, the aggressor to look at the fact that they need to have power over others and the victim to deal with the emotional problems the experience will have left them with.

Betty Boop;1132320 wrote: They wouldn't have started with the threats straight away, everything would have appeared normal. The average person would not actually notice the changes taking place in their lives that would then render them isolated and alone, abusers gradually increase their power until they have a hold over you.

Isolation - another abusers gradual take over tactic, this woman was isolated, she would have no doubt been reminded daily how grateful she should be for the abusers 'friendship' and support. She would have been broken down gradually until she felt herself a pretty worthless human being. At that point the abusers have complete control.

If 'many individuals react to fear with aggression' why are our domestic abuse figures so high? These abused individuals would simply fight back each and every time according to your statement... they don't!!

We have an inbuilt fight or flight instinct, many of us do actually choose the flight route, this can take time and a huge amount of courage to eventually do, the reason being due to the threats that have been made, when you take flight you need to ensure you make it to safety.

I don't dispute that all parties involved need the help of a psychiatrist, the aggressor to look at the fact that they need to have power over others and the victim to deal with the emotional problems the experience will have left them with.


1. Betty I am well aware of the methods used in victimization.

2. In reference to your above statement you no doubt have some proof that none of these were cases of retaliation or self-defense? Did you think that police are only called in when someone is being victimized but not called in when the abused defends him/herself and attacks the abuser?

Amber Sun;1132753 wrote: 1. Betty I am well aware of the methods used in victimization. You might do better to refer to programming in this instance. It built up over years from unpleasant to intolerable. People sometimes simply can't walk away regardless, they become entirely disempowered by the mistreatment.

Naked slave abuser̢۪s bid to beat justice gives rather more detail than the OP.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/ritual_abuse/50317 goes into Trauma Bonding.If a person is unable to escape chronic, traumatic abuse, they will eventually begin to bond with their perpetrator(s). This has been well documented in the literature. It will occur because of the dehumanization of the victim, who may reach a state of feeling that they are "robotized" or nonfeeling, combined with a disruption in the capacity for intimacy caused by the trauma.

"Trauma impels people both to withdraw from close relationships and to seeks them desperately. The profound disruption in basic trust, the common feelings of shame, guilt, and inferiority, and the need to avoid reminders of the trauma that might be found in social life, all foster withdrawal from close relationships. But the terror of the traumatic event intensifies the need for protective attachments. The traumatized person therefore frequently alternates between isolation and anxious clinging to others... "

Many victims of severe and unrelenting trauma, whether domestic violence, incest, or ritual abuse, will find that they feel anxious when alone, and fear abandonment and isolation. The over-dependent characteristics are NOT a personality fault, but a result of the chronic abuse.

Amber Sun;1132753 wrote: 1. Betty I am well aware of the methods used in victimization.



2. In reference to your above state ment you no doubt have some proof that none of these were cases of retaliation or self-defense? Did you think that police are only called in when someone is being victimized but not called in when the abused defends him/herself and attacks the abuser?


1. Then you must also be aware of how this process takes a period of time, the result being that the victim ends up dependant on the abuser.

You stated that 'The average person would have left at the first sign of real problems' How can they? They have been isolated and made to believe their 'abuser' is actually their 'protector'. Once you are isolated you have no one to discuss the fact that someone hit you last night, you know somewhere inside that it's wrong, but the abuser makes the victim believe that it is somehow their own fault.

You cannot make the original statement that you did, that 'the woman in question, (the slave) has some mental and emotional problems that aided her in becoming a victim'. It is the abuser that breaks down her mental and emotional state so that she can be dominated, it is not some character flaw that was there to start with that you are assuming. If you are 'well aware of the methods used in victimization' then how can you possibly arrive at this conclusion?

2. How did we get from psychiatrists to police

Are you claiming that abuse statistics are derived from acts of retaliation by the victim, that the abuser then reports?

I don't think that police are called in when someone is being victimized at all. The victim is so isolated at this stage that they don't believe that anyone will believe them, not even the police.

Betty Boop;1132238 wrote: Whew... thats quite an assumption there.

Fear alone is enough to make any person a 'victim'.


how true!

Girlofyork: Always a tough one, when you find out something like that.

If you can bring joy in, that will change the atmosphere. They are gone, and their traces can be overlaid. And remember - she became freed - it is a place of triumph over disaster.

spot;1133356 wrote: You might do better to refer to programming in this instance. It built up over years from unpleasant to intolerable. People sometimes simply can't walk away regardless, they become entirely disempowered by the mistreatment.

Naked slave abuser’s bid to beat justice gives rather more detail than the OP.

Trauma Bonding : The Pull to the Perpetrator goes into Trauma Bonding.If a person is unable to escape chronic, traumatic abuse, they will eventually begin to bond with their perpetrator(s). This has been well documented in the literature. It will occur because of the dehumanization of the victim, who may reach a state of feeling that they are "robotized" or nonfeeling, combined with a disruption in the capacity for intimacy caused by the trauma.

"Trauma impels people both to withdraw from close relationships and to seeks them desperately. The profound disruption in basic trust, the common feelings of shame, guilt, and inferiority, and the need to avoid reminders of the trauma that might be found in social life, all foster withdrawal from close relationships. But the terror of the traumatic event intensifies the need for protective attachments. The traumatized person therefore frequently alternates between isolation and anxious clinging to others... "

Many victims of severe and unrelenting trauma, whether domestic violence, incest, or ritual abuse, will find that they feel anxious when alone, and fear abandonment and isolation. The over-dependent characteristics are NOT a personality fault, but a result of the chronic abuse.


Hi spot, sorry it took so long to get back to you but I had problems with my computer that Bryn had to help me with.

I went to the link you provided and it was quite enlightening. Between reading the 2 posts it turns out that it was not even 2 years that all of this occurred in. Her bother left the unit altogether in 2002 and they were already in court in 2005. It takes some time to get into court and then the abuser kept playing it out. So how long did the victimization even take place? The victim did however have outside jobs for an undisclosed amount of time and did have friends to talk to.

Benefits in her name taken from her so that friends noticed she was permanently "skint" and wore the same shabby clothes all the time.



Her hair was hacked off



Had so many household chores she had to give up cleaning jobs to stay at home

Victim also states that she was given some clothing to wear to xmas dinner and that she 'ate well, it went down very good', this after not eating for 3 weeks? Apparently she wasn't allowed to take any food and 'didn't want to ask'.

Now Spot your a logical person, consider please a person not eating for 3 weeks and then going out to dinner and eating very well. Consider also looking after the house and all those children while not eating for '3 weeks'.

There is too much wrong with the whole scenario for me to just buy into it. I am not saying that she wasn't victimized, but I do believe that some of it may not be the entire truth either.

I would, tentatively, say that she stayed with the sister in law, not out of fear but because of her brothers 2 children. She had more than adequate means of escape while she worked and she had friends that spoke up in court for her. A person cannot be 'isolated' and have friends who knows she was 'skint all the time' at the same time. These friends would have offered her assistance in calling her family for her, her brother if available, the police or social services. However if she left the abusers home she would not have access to her brothers children.

As it has now worked out she will have access to her brothers children. As he is in the military he will get custody and she will be able to continue caring for them. Should the brother not want custody this would look very bad for him as the case has received wide publicity. But I don't think this is the case. The situation was such that he couldn't remove the children from the abuser just because he was being transferred and she didn't want to move with him. When he left his sister stayed to care for his 2 children. The wife was obviously unfit to care for any of the children as your link showed. The fact that the victim lost weight was most likely not because she was deprived of food for a '3 week stretch' but from stress. A person deprived of food for 3 weeks can't even stand on their own 2 feet properly let alone clean house and look after 6 young children and still be beaten.

Betty Boop;1133419 wrote: 1. Then you must also be aware of how this process takes a period of time, the result being that the victim ends up dependant on the abuser.

You stated that 'The average person would have left at the first sign of real problems' How can they? They have been isolated and made to believe their 'abuser' is actually their 'protector'. Once you are isolated you have no one to discuss the fact that someone hit you last night, you know somewhere inside that it's wrong, but the abuser makes the victim believe that it is somehow their own fault.

You cannot make the original statement that you did, that 'the woman in question, (the slave) has some mental and emotional problems that aided her in becoming a victim'. It is the abuser that breaks down her mental and emotional state so that she can be dominated, it is not some character flaw that was there to start with that you are assuming. If you are 'well aware of the methods used in victimization' then how can you possibly arrive at this conclusion?

2. How did we get from psychiatrists to police

Are you claiming that abuse statistics are derived from acts of retaliation by the victim, that the abuser then reports?

I don't think that police are called in when someone is being victimized at all. The victim is so isolated at this stage that they don't believe that anyone will believe them, not even the police.




Hhow did we get from psychiatrists to police

From you

If 'many individuals react to fear with aggression' why are our domestic abuse figures so high?

Where is it you think the majority of 'domestic abuse figures' come from?

Victim also states that she was given some clothing to wear to xmas dinner and that she 'ate well, it went down very good', this after not eating for 3 weeks? Apparently she wasn't allowed to take any food and 'didn't want to ask'.

Now Spot your a logical person, consider please a person not eating for 3 weeks and then going out to dinner and eating very well. Consider also looking after the house and all those children while not eating for '3 weeks'.


I don't understand 3 weeks is very plausible as well as looking after children and a house..............You do not know this? why is this unbelievable to you? People do it all the time. One of the main threats in domestic violence situations is the removal or withholding of food and resources. you are also talking about a teenager who has just left an unpleasent circumstance before moving in to her brothers home. In this situation she would be a sinche to manipulate.

As for the first paragraph ...So? she sat there until the food was offered, she was not allowed to help herself. And of course she'd not going to ask. That's the only plausible answer and it makes perfect sence. Unless you have another. *shrugs*

I'm going to assume you don't have much to do with domestic violence victims ? or Anerexics.

Amber Sun;1133584 wrote: Hhow did we get from psychiatrists to police

From you

If 'many individuals react to fear with aggression' why are our domestic abuse figures so high?

Where is it you think the majority of 'domestic abuse figures' come from?


Welfare checks actually, usually reported to agencies and police by relatives neighbours and friends. Once the person being abused admits to it "it becomes a statment from the victim" and therefore looks like the initial and ongoing intervention was instigated by the victim. Victims who initiate any intervention without help is very rare.

Amber Sun;1133584 wrote: Hhow did we get from psychiatrists to police

From you

If 'many individuals react to fear with aggression' why are our domestic abuse figures so high?

Where is it you think the majority of 'domestic abuse figures' come

from?


I did not specifically mention police statistics. Poilce statistics are known to be flawed and do not provide the full picture. Police responding to a call regarding domestic violence will back away quoting it as a 'civil matter' and they are powerless to do anything. I draw figures and facts from the support groups that reach out to these women such as 'Womens Aid'. If you read all the information out there you will understand that the statistics actually show only the tip of the iceberg.

Domestic Violence Statistics: Prevalence and Trends ~ FindCounseling.com

Here's a quote from the above website for you;

'The precise incidence of domestic violence in America is difficult to determine for several reasons: it often goes unreported, even on surveys; there is no nationwide organization that gathers information from local police departments about the number of substantiated reports and calls; and there is disagreement about what should be included in the definition of domestic violence. "One study estimated that more than 3% (approximately 1.8 million) of women were severely assaulted by male partners or cohabitants over the course of a year, while other studies indicate the percentage of women experiencing dating violence, including sexual assault, physical violence, or verbal and emotional abuse, ranges as high as 65%." 14'

Let me first be quite clear that I'm in agreement with Ms Boop on this issue, and do not in any way condone the abuse of women.

Just wanted to add that I think abusive behaviour by women towards men is more common than most would suspect, and even less reported on.

Ok, I'll take cover now.