A Filipina woman and her son ended up becoming personal servants for an American man who lured them to come to the U.S. with promises of a better life.
The unidentified woman met 46-year-old high school teacher Christian Mothershead on a dating site, called AsianDating.com, back in 2017, reports WITI reports.
Mothershead, who teaches Mandarin Chinese in Wisconsin, spent three weeks in the Philippines, convincing her to move to the U.S. He reportedly promised that he would marry her and further her education if she came with him. She eventually gave in.
In November 2018, she and her son arrived in the U.S. expecting a comfortable life in their new home. However, a hellish life awaited them as soon as they entered Mothershead’s home in West Allis, based on her criminal complaint obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Mothershead allegedly gave the woman and her son cleaning gloves and masks and forced them to clean up his home “covered in garbage and spoiled food.”
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According to the woman, Mothershead threatened not to feed them unless they started cleaning immediately. Mothershead then allegedly raped her that evening. With the threat of being sent back to the Philippines, she endured cleaning his home in the next several weeks.
In her complaint, she revealed that her son slept on a mattress without sheets on the floor while Mothershead’s son slept in a bedroom. Mothershead instructed her and her son that they “should always be cleaning.” They weren’t even allowed to watch his television.
During Thanksgiving, the woman and her son cooked a holiday meal they were not allowed to eat because “Thanksgiving is for Americans.”
One day, while Mothershead was at school, the woman summed up the courage to call the police. She later told the authorities that she “felt like she was trapped and a slave.”
Mothershead, who was charged last week with two counts of human trafficking and second-degree sexual assault, was released on bail on Thursday after an arraignment. Mothershead denied the allegations, according to WTMJ.
“I did none of these things. They’re all lies,” he was quoted as saying.
If convicted, Mothershead faces up to 90 years in prison. He will make his next court appearance later this month and has been placed on unpaid leave while his criminal case is being heard.
Featured Image via Milwaukee County Jail
