ELEVEN members of the Rooney family in Lincolnshire have been convicted of keeping 16 vulnerable labour slaves in 'squalid conditions' for 26 years.
The family were found guilty of a series offences following a series of linked trials relating to modern slavery and fraud at Nottingham Crown Court on August 11.
Brothers Martin (57), John Joseph (53), Lawrence (47), Gerald (46), as well as Martin's wife Bridget (55), and their sons Patrick and John, both 31, and Martin Jr (23) will appear alongside Gerald Rooney's brother-in-law Peter Doran (36) and cousins of the four Rooney brothers, Patrick Rooney (54) and his son Martin (35) for sentencing at the same court on September 7, 8, 11, and 12.
Patrick and John Rooney's wives Nora and Eileen were cleared of all charges against them.
The Rooney family tree. (Picture: Lincolnshire Police)The case was part of Lincolnshire Police's Operation Pottery investigation, a three-year investigation, one of the largest of its kind in the country.
Over the course of the investigation, six victims of slavery were removed from the Rooney family's sites.
Having previously located two other victims, police later traced a further 10 men who left the sites.
Police have said all victims were extremely vulnerable – many were alcoholics and several had learning disabilities and mental health issues and were estranged from their families.
While the labourers worked in 'squalid' conditions the family were taking luxurious holidays to Barbados, Australia, Egypt and Mexico, bought BMWs, spa days and even cosmetic surgery.
The victims were also subjected to violence by the family, starved of food and had no access to running water while a tapped pylon was used for electricity.
The vulnerable men had no toilet facilities to use apart from nearby woods. The victims were often only paid with a packet of tobacco and alcohol.
Victims bank accounts were often used to pay for gym membership, business materials and even a soccer school course at Manchester United.
One of the caravans the victims stayed in. (Picture: Lincs Police)In total, 18 men between the ages of 18 and 63 had been illegally trafficked by the Rooney family members.
Speaking after the conviction, Chief Superintendent Nikki Mayo, Senior Investigating Officer, said: “The victims had been located and picked up by the defendants from all over the country and specifically targeted because they were vulnerable and homeless.
“They were promised that they would be looked after, sheltered and fed in return for work and were then trafficked into the site.
"In fact they were being completely exploited – working long hours tarmacking driveways and block paving for the family.
"These businesses operated illicitly by using stolen materials and tools and advertised on hoardings where they didn’t have permission to do so.
The victims of the Rooneys were exploited to work long hours both on sites and for the business paving and tarmacking driveways. (Picture: Lincs Police)“When they weren’t working for the company the men had to collect scrap, sweep, tidy up or look after pets around the sites.
"This exploitation was illegally funding a lavish lifestyle for the defendants.
"While their ‘labourers’ were suffering, this family were taking luxurious holidays to Barbados, Australia, Egypt and Mexico, the purchase of high performance BMWs, spa days and even cosmetic surgery.
“They were not given training for the manual labour and although not physically trapped, they were financially, emotionally and physically abused making any escape seem impossible.
He added: "Victims who did pluck up the courage were often searched for by the family and if located, returned and put back to work. The men were also subjected to threats of violence and intimidation by the defendants and some were assaulted.
"If they needed the toilet they often had no alternative but to use the nearby woods and fields. If they needed to go to see a doctor visits were frequently delayed and advice often totally disregarded, and over time the victims became completely institutionalised and isolated from society.
Police have said the victims were held in squalid conditions. (Picture: Lincs Police)“The tragedy in this case is that the victims will never get those years of their lives back – we believe one man was held for 26 years. The severity and gravity of the charges speak for themselves."
Police also uncovered four properties that victims were signed over to the family members for well below their market value.
Only one victim obtained his property back through the civil courts.
From the sale of the other three of the properties, the family made £522,000, while their victims were not given any of the proceeds.
In one case, a man had alcohol issues and developed dementia and was living on one of the sites.
When his condition deteriorated, he was abandoned by the family at a hospital.
Once the man had been treated, the hospital moved him to a care home where he died in November 2014.
The family will be sentenced in Septmeber. Here is the full breakdown on the Rooney family charges...
John Rooney (31) of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby – Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Conspiracy to defraud, Fraud by false representation, Theft (two counts).
Patrick Rooney (31) of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby – Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Fraud by abuse of position, Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Theft (two counts).
Bridget Rooney (55) of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby – Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour
Martin Rooney (35) of Sainfoin Farm, Gatemoor Lane, Beaconsfield – Conspiracy to defraud, Converting criminal property (two counts)
Martin Rooney (57) of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby – Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Unlawful wounding
Martin Rooney (23) of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby – Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Assault occasioning actual bodily harm
Patrick Rooney (54) of Sainfoin Farm, Gatemoor Lane, Beaconsfield – Converting criminal property
John Rooney (53) of Chantry Croft, Pontefract – require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour (two counts)
Peter Doran (36) of Washingborough Road, Lincoln – require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour
Gerard Rooney (46) of Washingborough Road, Lincoln – require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour
Lawrence Rooney (47) currently in prison – require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour
