An American public high school teacher was charged in Wisconsin late last month with human trafficking and sexual assault after he allegedly forced a Filipino woman and her son to work as his servants.
Christian Mothershead, a Chinese language teacher, met the unidentified woman in an online dating site in June 2017, according to a report by Fox6 News. According to the criminal complaint filed by the victim, Mothershead, 46, flew to the Philippines to meet her in July 2017 and stayed there for three weeks. The suspect allegedly promised his victim, who sold ice to make ends meet, that he would marry her, take care of her family, and send her children to school.
However, when the Filipina and her son flew to the United States in November 2018, Mothershead allegedly welcomed them by handing them cleaning gloves and masks as soon as they arrived at the airport. He then brought the two to his filthy home in the city of West Allis and told them to clean the place or else they would not be fed. It was also on that night that Mothershead allegedly raped the Filipina, reported the Journal Sentinel.
The victim and her son were allegedly enslaved by the suspect for weeks, with Mothershead threatening them that they would not be given food and water if they did not work. The Filipina would often wake up at 5am to prepare breakfast for Mothershead and his own son and would spend the rest of the day cleaning the house.
In one instance, the Filipina and her son cooked a meal for Thanksgiving but were forbidden by the suspect to eat it. Mothershead allegedly forced the victims to watch him and his own son eat the food.
One day, the Filipino boy contracted a fever but Mothershead allegedly refused to send him to the doctor. The suspect also repeatedly threatened the Filipina that he would send her and her son back to the Philippines.
After several weeks of living with the suspect, the Filipina contacted the police to report the way they were being treated. She and her son sought refuge in a shelter in December 2018, reported WTMJ-TV.
The suspect is currently on unpaid leave from the school he works in while he is being investigated. Mothershead said all of the Filipina’s accusations were “lies.” He could be imprisoned for a maximum of 90 years in prison if convicted of all the crimes he has been charged with.
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