Northern Ireland

First picture released of Craigavon 'house of horrors' abuser Caroline Baker

Police have released a picture of the Caroline Baker who along with her husband was convicted of holding captive a mentally disabled woman for eight years.  

Mrs Baker (54) was imprisoned for three years but will be released after 18 months under licence.

Her husband Keith Baker (61) was jailed for 15 years for keeping the victim as a sex slave in a room with no light bulb, carpets or curtains at his filthy house in Craigavon, Co Armagh.

Mr Baker filmed many of his attacks for his own sexual gratification and also held sway over his wife and another partner through his willingness to resort to violence and total immorality, a judge said at Craigavon Crown Court on Tuesday.

The media has been free to show pictures of Mr Baker, but a court order granted in 2014 continued to prevent images of Caroline Baker being published.

Representations on behalf of the press were made in court on Tuesday.

The Lord Chief Justice's office yesterday said the court order was made to preserve the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Police were asked to provide a "risk assessment" before the judge reconsidered the press ban on publishing images of Mrs Baker

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The woman was kept in a squalid room in the Bakers' house

The door of the room in which the victim was imprisoned had no handle on the inside and the toilet was overflowing with human excrement.

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The room was kept in darkness with no electric lights

She was so badly emaciated she had only one tooth left once she was rescued by police in 2012 after Baker's second partner raised the alarm.

Keith and Caroline Baker were filmed sexually assaulting their victim.

The woman's learning difficulties were so severe her IQ placed her in the lowest 0.3% of the population.

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There was no handle on the door to the room in which the woman was kept

She did not appear on the electoral register, was not with a GP or dentist and never claimed benefits.

Neighbours did not even know the woman, completely isolated from the rest of society, was there.

Mr Baker had been raised in Guernsey and lived most of his life in Kent. He met his wife when they both worked for the Salvation Army, which helps the most vulnerable in society.

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Police found a camera in the room

A spokeswoman for the Salvation Army said: "Our records do not reflect the Bakers in employment within our organisation, which may suggest that they met through a voluntary informal association.

"We abhor their crimes."

Prosecutors are considering appealing against the sentences of a couple.

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Keith Baker was sentenced to 15 years in prison