The 49-year-old defendant between 2017 and 2020 forced to work five vulnerable men on his farm and at his place of residence. While sex trafficking has always been in the forefront, also this case shows the rise of labour exploitation of men in recent years.
There was no piped water or refrigerator on the man’s farm, and the electricity was provided by a generator in case of need. The victims lived in an old, non-insulated camper van, which could be heated with a stove. In addition to the exploitative working conditions, the defendant also fraudulently acquired the property worth HUF 3 million of one victim: he led him to believe that the transfer would only be temporary to avoid placing a lien on it; the defendant then renovated and with the help of a relative, sold the apartment.
This victim got injured once on the farm during daily work, when a horse trampled on his feet. However, the defendant took him to the doctor too late, so he had two of his toes amputated. Later he decided to escape after suffering physical abuses. The Hungarian Baptist Aid was involved to provide safe transportation and accommodation in the summer of 2020.
The perpetrator was detained by the Metropolitan Prosecution Office in July and then placed under criminal supervision by a court order. In December 2020, the prosecutor's office filed charges at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court of multiple counts of qualified trafficking in human beings, as well as the felony of fraud, forgery of public deed and the misdemeanour of failure to render aid and is seeking the imposition of executable penitentiary terms.
Source (in Hungarian): http://ugyeszseg.hu/tobb-ember-kizsakmanyolasa-a-vad-a-fovarosi-fougyeszseg-sajtokozlemenye/