Couple Accused Of Confining, Abusing Child In Gloucester Twp. To Stay Jailed

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A Gloucester Township couple accused of holding a child captive for seven years, trapping her in a dog crate, and subjecting her to beatings and sexual violence will remain jailed.

Brenda Spencer and Branndon Mosley — the victim's mother and stepfather — made their first court appearance Thursday since their arrests. At the detention hearing, a judge granted the prosecutor's motion to keep them jailed.

They will return to court July 23 for a pre-indictment conference at the Camden County Hall of Justice, according to court records.

Spencer and Mosley kept the victim confined inside their Blackwood home for seven years, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. At first, the victim was forced to live in a dog crate with her hands bound behind her back and was only let out intermittently, according to court documents.

The victim, who is now 18, was later forced to live in a padlocked bathroom, where she was chained, authorities said. Then, she was confined to an empty room, where she had to use a bucket instead of a toilet, officials said.

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Throughout this time, she lived in "squalid" conditions alongside several dogs, chinchillas and other animals, authorities said.

"This is one of the most despicable cases that I've ever come across," Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins said last week.

Two weeks ago, the victim escaped from home with help from a neighbor, who alerted law enforcement about the abuse, authorities said.

Mosley, 41, and Spencer, 38, were charged and arrested two days later, when the victim opened up to police about the abuse she endured, according to the prosecutor's office.

Spencer had the victim removed from school about seven years ago, when the child completed sixth grade, authorities said. The victim's mother and stepfather began confining her around that time, according to prosecutors.

One year later, Spencer removed a second child from school out of fear that she would tell someone about the abuse in their home, authorities said. The child, now 13, had just finished second grade.

Both children were allegedly homeschooled, but there's no evidence that they received any form of education, officials said. There are also no indications that the suspects ever took the children out of the house when they were confined.

The suspects took the elder victim out of confinement when other family visited their home, authorities said.

Mosley once brought the victim a plate of food while she was chained up. He told the victim she would get the food if he could sexually assault her, which he did, authorities said.

The suspects would beat the victim with a belt and a horse whip for acting out, according to court documents. The victim suffered scars on her wrists and other bodily pain from the beatings and the chains, officials said.

Spencer and Mosley were both charged with:

• first-degree kidnapping
• second-degree conspiracy to commit kidnapping
• second-degree aggravated assault
• second-degree endangering the welfare of a child through abuse and neglect (five counts)
• third-degree criminal restraint
• third-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
• third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose
• fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon

Mosley was also charged with:

• first-degree aggravated sexual assault
• second-degree sexual assault (two counts)
• second-degree endangering the welfare of a child through sexual contact