British Mom Asked Ukrainian Refugee She Hosted to Help With Dishes, Got Accused of 'Slavery'

The Ukrainian refugee brought her accusations against her host shortly after being asked to seek lodgings elsewhere.

Hannah Debenham, a 42-year-old mental health specialist living in East Sussex, ended up being investigated by British police on suspicion of modern day slavery after being reported by a Ukrainian refugee she hosted.

The investigation lasted for two months before coming to an end this week, with the case being dropped due to lack of evidence.

In June, Debenham started sheltering a Ukrainian mother and her 10-year old daughter, having come to an arrangement with her guest that the latter would perform babysitting two to three times a week in return for £200 payment.

The relationship between Hannah and her lodger, however, took a turn for the worse after only a couple of weeks, according to local media reports.

As Debenham started noticing that the amount of dirty dishes at home increased as her guests apparently did not bother to clear up after themselves, she suggested to the Ukrainian mother that she should probably help out more.

Once, the two women had a falling out after Debenham found herself unable to drive her guest to an appointment.

A latter incident became the last straw: when the Ukrainian woman, while accompanying Debenham’s five-year-old son at a playground, allegedly told him to do his business in an open field nearby and wipe himself with leaves when the boy told her he needed to use the restroom.

This development led Debenham to conclude she could no longer entrust her children to the Ukrainian mom, and advised the latter to seek lodgings elsewhere when her benefits come through.

A few days later, the Ukrainian woman called her at work and told her that she was leaving, and shortly afterwards, cops called Debenham and said that she was being accused of slavery.

The Ukrainian refugee alleged that Debenham made her “work most days, looking after the children and expected to clear up and tidy up the house,” and that she was essentially “used as a slave and full-time child minder for little to no pay under the disguise of assisting her in the Ukrainian settlement scheme,” local media say citing a police report.