A couple in the Flemish city of Deurne has been arrested and is facing a string of charges for reportedly forcing a man to live and wash on their terrace for months.
The Antwerp public prosecutor opened a judicial investigation after a local police officer received reports that a 63-year-old Belgian man was being made to eat, wash and sleep outside for several months.
The man had reportedly been staying on the property of a family said to be of Macedonian origin, where police conducted a house search last Tuesday.
While authorities had initially detained all members of the family, the couple's 19-year-old daughter was released, but a man, 42, and a woman, 41, were kept in custody.
Their victim was taken to a local shelter for victims of human trafficking and prostitution, according to HLN and Het Nieuwsblad.
The initial findings of the investigation revealed that the man had also been subject to financial abuse by the family for ten years.
The couple, who is facing charges of human trafficking, degrading treatment and abusing someone in a vulnerable condition, is set to appear in before a court on Friday.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
