A woman who smuggled an unpaid servant girl into the UK and forced her to sleep in a tiny cupboard was jailed for two and a half years today.
Mary Tontoh, 61, of Roundtree Close, Wembley, promised a well paid job and a university education to lure Elizabeth Adona from her native Ghana.
But when Miss Adona came to England on May 7, 2005 she was forced to work long hours and survive on limited food during an ordeal that lasted more than two years.
Harrow Crown Court heard how the 21-year-old was forced to wait on her boss, look after Tontoh's nine-year-old son and clean her home including hand washing dirty clothes before they went in the washing machine.
For several months she was also forced to live in a tiny cupboard while her boss denied her of any wages claiming it had to be spent on household bills or 'repayment' for her air fare to London.
Miss Adona said: "I had a mattress in there and some of my things there. I could sleep but I had to fold my legs."
Relatives of the 21-year-old became concerned when they had not heard from her since she arrived in the UK.
During the trial Miss Adona said she was eventually encouraged by friends to go to the police herself.
The Metropolitan Police Human Trafficking Team were alerted and arrested Tontoh on June 25, 2007. When officers called round they found the mattress still in the meter cupboard with Miss Adona's belongings.
A search of Tontoh's two-bedroom home revealed a counterfeit Nigerian passport with a false name containing a photograph of the 21-year-old and a number of other documents in the false name.
When questioned by police about the passport Tontoh stated she was going to report it to the police and denied any involvement in criminal activities.
She was found guilty in June of assisting unlawful entry to the UK and possessing a fake Nigerian passport.
Judge Nic Madge, sentencing, said: "The extent of the exploitation was shown by the fact that for the final months you told Elizabeth Adone to sleep in the meter cupboard.
"On top of this you also arranged day-time cleaning jobs for her, one at Willesden Bus Garage."
It is believed Miss Adona is still living in the UK and a decision about her future still has to be made.