Ice cream business owner kept worker in his garage like a ‘slave’
ByThe Courier Reporter
David and Donna Rooke arrive at Sheffield Crown Court.
An ice-cream business owner who kept a vulnerable man like a “slave” has been jailed for six-and-a-half years by a judge who said it was “staggering” this could happen in modern society.
David Rooke forced Craig Kinsella, 34, to live in a garage where he suffered regular beatings and ended up scavenging for food in bins, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
Rooke, 44, yesterday admitted falsely imprisoning and attacking Mr Kinsella and was jailed along with his wife Donna, 40, and son Jamie, 19.
CCTV footage of various members of the Rooke family assaulting Mr Kinsella was shown to Judge Peter Kelson QC who said it was impossible to watch without wincing.
The judge said the family used Kinsella like a “punchbag” and treated him “like a dog”.
“It’s almost unbelievable,” he said.
Ice cream business owner kept worker in his garage like a ‘slave’
