A businesswoman who bakes spectacular birthday cakes for the children of Premier League footballers was jailed for keeping a deaf and mute girl in a cellar as a slave, MailOnline can reveal.
Tallat Ashar's stunning creations - including towering superhero-themed cakes - have attracted thousands of 'likes' on TikTok and Instagram, with the firm catering for parties for the sons of Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, defender Raphaël Varane and former team-mate Paul Pogba.
But unbeknown to its celebrity clients, behind the glossy social media sheen lies a dark link to one of the most shocking criminal trials in recent years.
In 2014, Ashar, the sole director of her firm Sugared Luxe Ltd – based in Eccles, Greater Manchester – was jailed for six years after she and her husband Ilyas were revealed to have smuggled a ten-year-old girl from Pakistan to the UK where she was subjected to appalling abuse.
Kept secretly in the 'sparse, cold, damp' cellar of the five-bed family home, the girl was repeatedly raped by Mr Ashar as well as being ordered to cook and clean for her captors.
Shockingly, the callous couple were also able to pocket thousands of pounds claimed in the victim's name.
She was finally rescued in 2009, but having never gone to school she had to be taught sign language, enabling her to give testimony to police which would later see the Ashars convicted.
In 2013, Mr Ashar – then 84 – was jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of 13 counts of rape as well as benefit fraud and trafficking.
His wife, then aged 69, was convicted of benefit fraud and trafficking and jailed for five years.
Jurors failed to reach a verdict on charges of false imprisonment, which both Ilyas and Tallat Ashar denied.
Judge Peter Larkin
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