18-year-old with shaved head, bruises on wrists runs to neighbor after escaping years in captivity, officials say

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Gray News) – An 18-year-old escaped from a home in New Jersey where she reportedly suffered years of abuse while being held captive by her mother and stepfather.

According to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, on Saturday, officials were notified that the victim escaped and ran to a neighbor’s house for help.

That neighbor, who did not want to be named, told WPVI that he was immediately concerned by the 18-year-old’s appearance.

“She definitely had scars on her wrist from, I think, being chained up,” he said. “She had her head shaved. And she said that for punishment her mother would shave her head.”

The neighbor called 911. He also said he hadn’t seen the victim in 11 years.

Officers were sent to the home to investigate. The young woman eventually told police that she had been held captive in her home for several years and was the victim of physical and sexual abuse.

During the investigation, the victim told detectives that the abuse had been going on since approximately 2018. Around that time, she was pulled out of school in sixth grade and confined to her home.

The victim said shortly after, she was forced to live in a dog crate for approximately one year and was let out periodically.

The victim said she was later forced to live in a padlocked bathroom while being chained up. She said that she was only let out of the bathroom when family visited the residence.

At other times, she said she was forced to live in a bare room with just a bucket to use instead of a toilet. The room had an alarm system that would be triggered if she tried to leave.

Officials identified the suspects as the victim’s mother, Brenda Spencer, 38, and the victim’s stepfather, Branndon Mosley, 41.

The victim told detectives that she was also sexually abused by Mosley and beaten with a belt.

The abuse continued for years until she finally escaped the home last week and ran to a neighbor for help.

Spencer and Mosley were arrested Sunday and are facing numerous charges, including kidnapping, assault and child endangerment.

Mosley is facing additional charges for sexual assault.

Officials said Spencer was unemployed and Mosley worked as a train conductor for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

They are being held in the Camden County Correctional Facility.

Detectives who searched the home said evidence corroborated the victim’s story. They said it appeared the victim was living in “squalid conditions” along with numerous dogs, chinchillas and other animals.

Detectives said they also found the victim’s 13-year-old sister at the home, who was also pulled out of school years ago. It’s unclear if she also faced abuse.

Investigators found that when Spencer stopped sending the girls to school years ago, she told the school district that she had decided to homeschool them.

Camden County Prosecutor Grace Macaulay said there are no laws in New Jersey that require any follow up for homeschooled children.

“For home schooling in New Jersey, parents are only required to notify the school district of their intent to homeschool. There is no requirement by the New Jersey Department of Education to follow up or to confirm attendance records, minimal instructional time, subjects or testing. Certainly, this case proves there’s a need to revamp and revisit those laws.” Macaulay said.

Another neighbor said she found it strange that she hardly ever saw the children who lived there.

“I did find it strange that the kids never came outside, only to get food out of the car and go back in, but other than that, you never see them,” she said. “They don’t go to school, they don’t play with other children or anything like that.”

Anyone with information is asked to Detective Timothy Jordan of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at (856) 365-3073 or Detective Daniel Ritz of the Gloucester Township Police Department at (856) 228-4500. Tips may also be sent to CAMDEN.TIPS.

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