A Kinross dad-of-15 who kept a slave in a shed with no toilet or washing facilities has been put behind bars.
James McCann kept Andras Varga in disgraceful conditions of servitude and sent him out to work for a pittance in pay.
Mr Varga, a Hungarian national who has since died, had initially been made to live in a tent near a beach, where he had to wash in the sea, before being put in the metal shed.
He had to go to a supermarket to use the toilet as he was forbidden from going in the house.
Mr Varga was dirty and dishevelled when finally rescued by police.
McCann, 69, who was at the time living in the north of England, has now been jailed for modern slavery.
Odd jobs
Newcastle Crown Court heard Mr Varga, who spoke very little English, arrived in the UK in 2007 and worked in various places in the south of England, where he was treated “well enough” by a family who gave him work.
He ended up living on the streets for a time until someone called Mike started giving him odd jobs for £30 to £40 a day.
Mike then passed him on to McCann, who took him to the north-east of England in 2017.
At first, Mr Varga was put in a tent next to McCann’s caravan at Blyth beach in Northumberland.
Even when McCann was not in the caravan, Mr Varga was not allowed access to it to sleep or wash.
Instead he was given a small bowl of water to wash or did so in the sea and he used public toilets in the area.
No entry to house
A council officer noticed the tent and when Mr Varga was spoken to he appeared “dishevelled and dirty.” Police were contacted.
McCann then moved Mr Varga to live in a metal hut or shed in the back garden of his partner’s home in Chestnut Avenue, Blyth.
It had no sink, washing facilities or toilet and he had to go to a local Lidl store to use the toilet and was not able to wash his clothes. The electricity was provided by a cable from inside the house.
The only time Mr Varga was allowed in the house was to help with decorating and to take some groceries in.
McCann, who grew up in the Travelling community, put the victim to work and would pay him £10 to £20 a day doing things like pressure washing drives or gardening, sometimes for five hours a day.
Prosecutor Vince Ward said: “He has exploited Mr Varga for cheap labour.”
He added: “Mr Varga was in the UK with no family or friends and he spoke very little English.
“He knew he was being exploited but said it was better for him than living on the streets.
“But he said he might have caught hypothermia and not survived had they not found him.”
Rescued by police
It was on November 30, 2017, that he was found and rescued by police.
Mr Ward said when Mr Varga was found “he was dishevelled, wearing several layers of clothing and appeared drunk”.
McCann, who has since moved to Kinross, told officers Mr Varga had said he preferred to stay in the shed than in the house and said he himself had lived in there at times. He claimed he had taken pity on his victim and fed him well.
The court heard Mr Varga has since died of an unrelated illness in Hungary.
‘Lack of autonomy’
McCann, who has 51 previous convictions, including for violence and dishonesty, pleaded guilty an offence under the Modern Slavery Act of holding Mr Varga in slavery between November 1 and November 30 2017.
He was jailed for two years and nine months.
Judge Edward Bindloss said: “In the shed it was a limited space, with an unfit door and there was a camp bed with a dirty sleeping bag on it.
“There was no toilet or sink or laundry and he had to use a toilet in a supermarket because he was not allowed in the house.
“These offences are always serious because of the lack of autonomy given to a person in his position.”
Offered an apology
Joe Hedworth, defending, said McCann had suffered heart attacks and has other health problems.
Mr Hedworth added: “He would be offering a sincere apology to Mr Varga if he was still with us, for the distress he caused, unintentionally.
“He lived in that shed for a significant period of time himself.”
Mr Hedworth said the financial gain to McCann would have been up to £200, there was no violence used or threatened and said his understanding of the offending was limited.
The court heard McCann, now of Green Road, Kinross, Scotland, didn’t go to school or learn to read or write.
