Authorities say the man "recruited six women as sex workers" before he "set up secret cameras to watch his victims and film his disturbing behavior" -- in what detectives called "one of the most horrific and upsetting cases" they've ever seen.
A UK man was found guilty this week of what police in Greater Manchester are calling "a series of depraved and abhorrent offenses against women."
Nicholas Moxham, 52, was arrested in 2021, after authorities accused him of rape, prostitution, slavery and sexual assault -- all of which they claimed took place in his own home, where he had "secret cameras" recording all his "disturbing behavior," said the Greater Manchester Police Department in a statement.
On Thursday, following a 5-week trial, Moxham was found guilty of controlling prostitution for gain, requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labor, rape, attempted rape, assault by penetration and voyeurism.
Det Sgt Attenborough told BBC that the investigation into Moxham "started small," after neighbors reported suspicious activity at his home in June 2020. Police said witnesses also reported seeing someone named "Nick" "in the company of sex workers and often loitering near homeless shelters"; Attenborough added employees for charities supporting sex workers raised concerns, saying he was "very well known" to their clients.
Per police, Moxham "recruited six woman as sex workers" and arranged for others to visit both his home and another address nearby. "Many of these encounters were covertly filmed by Moxham using specialist equipment including secret cameras hidden in pens," said authorities, adding that some of the videos showed Moxham "raping or sexually assaulting women, sometimes whilst they were unconscious."
His home wasn't raided until August 17, 2021 -- where officers say they found a "pale and malnourished woman" under a duvet on his living room floor.
Also found in the raid, according to police, were computer hard drives, storage devices and spyhole cameras, "despite Moxham's attempt to dispose of the evidence by throwing a hard drive out of his bedroom window as police entered his house." The devices, said Attenborough, contained "huge catalogues of covertly recorded sexual material," with officers taking years to identify the women in the videos.
"He treated his victims like a possession, like something that he owned, and arranged to sexually exploit them for his own sexual perversions," said Attenborough, whose team went to work trying to find the other victims. "This is one of the most horrific and upsetting cases my team has ever had to deal with."
Despite the footage, Moxham denied the charges against him -- and, in doing so, wound up "forcing his victims to go through the ordeal of trial," Attenborough added.
"He showed absolutely no regard for any of his victims, some of whom won’t even know they were targeted due to the calculated and covert methods he used to take advantage," he added. "His offending was well-planned and continued whilst he was under investigation, even boasting to one of his victims that he was too clever for police."
Attenborough commended the victims for coming forward, saying that, "thanks to their courageous actions, Moxham is off our streets and will now face a considerable time behind bars."
Moxham will be sentenced on July 12.