A Wisconsin high school teacher lured a Filipino woman and her son to the US with promises of a better life — but instead forced them to work as his personal servants, according to a report.
Mandarin Chinese teacher Christian Mothershead, 46, met the unidentified woman on a dating website in 2017 — then traveled to the Philippines, where he spent three weeks promising to marry her and further her education if she agreed to move to the United States, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
She agreed, but instead of welcoming her with roses as he promised, Mothershead gave the woman and her son cleaning gloves and masks when they arrived stateside in November 2018, the complaint alleges.
Mothershead then took the pair to his squalid West Allis home — which was covered in garbage and spoiled food — and threatened not to feed the woman and her son unless they started cleaning right away.
The woman told police that Mothershead raped her later that evening.
She spent the next several weeks cleaning his home under threat of being sent back to the Philippines, according to the complaint. 00:13 / 00:15TOP ARTICLES1/5READ MORETrump needs to take lead on universalbackground checks
And while Mothershead’s son slept in a bedroom, the Filipino boy — whose age was not included in the complaint — was ordered to sleep on a mattress without sheets on the floor.
Mothershead also told the woman and her son that they “should always be cleaning” and weren’t allowed to watch his television, WITI reports.
When the woman finally called cops while Mothershead was at school, she told police she “felt like she was trapped and a slave,” according to the complaint.
That treatment had continued through Thanksgiving, the woman told police, saying she and her son cooked a holiday meal that she wasn’t even allowed to enjoy because “Thanksgiving is for Americans,” WISN reports.
Mothershead was charged last week with two counts of human trafficking and second-degree sexual assault.
He was released on bail after an arraignment Tuesday and could not be reached for comment Thursday.
He faces up to 90 years in prison if convicted and is expected back in court later this month.
A Milwaukee Public Schools spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel that Mothershead, who has denied the allegations, has been placed on unpaid leave as his criminal case proceeds.
“I did none of these things,” Mothershead told WTMJ. “They’re all lies.”
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