A New Jersey couple is accused of abusing a teen girl for seven years by forcing her to live in a dog crate and chained up in a bathroom in their “squalid” animal-filled home, prosecutors said.
Brenda Spencer, 38, and Branndon Mosley, 41, of Gloucester Township, were accused of harming the now-18-year-old girl since 2018, with the victim suffering physical, mental and sexual abuse, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
The victim, who escaped from the home Thursday, said the abuse began when Spencer pulled her out of school in the sixth grade and forced her to live inside a dog crate for about a year.
The girl was later thrown into a padlocked bathroom, where she was chained up and only allowed to go out when family visited the residence to hide the abuse, prosecutors said.
When she wasn’t in the bathroom, the victim would be forced to live in a bare room, with only a bucket to use as a toilet.
The victim told police the room was fixed with an alarm system that would alert Spencer and Mosley if she tried to leave.
Along with the mental torture, the victim said she was reportedly beaten and sexually abused by Mosley, a train conductor for SEPTA, until she finally escaped last week.
With the help of a neighbor, the girl was able to contact police and report her years of suffering to investigators, who found the home she was staying at to be in “squalid conditions.”
At the house, detectives also found a 13-year-old girl who had also been removed from school years earlier at Spencer’s discretion. Police also found numerous dogs, chinchillas and other animals inside the house.
Spencer and Mosley’s relationship to the girls was not clear.
The couple was arrested and charged on Sunday with kidnapping, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal restraint, as well as various weapons charges.
Mosley was additionally charged with five counts of sexual assault.
Both Spencer and Mosley are currently being held at the Camden County Correctional Facility pending their court hearing.
