Inside the chilling nightmare: How a teenage girl broke free from seven years of captivity by her own parents

Warning upfront: This one’s heavy — it dives deep into child abuse and captivity, so brace yourself. Now, imagine being snatched from school, locked inside a dog crate (yes, a dog crate), and then shoved into a chained bathroom for years on end. Sounds like twisted horror fiction, right? But for one teenage girl from Gloucester, New Jersey, it was her grim reality. Her mother, Brenda Spencer, and stepfather, Branndon Mosley, allegedly held her captive in a nightmare they called home — a “house of horrors” where abuse, neglect, and fear reigned for seven long years. It begs the question: How did nobody see it sooner? And what does this say about the walls behind which these horrors brew unseen? As the legal system finally steps in, we’re left grappling with the dark truths that can lurk behind the most familiar facades.

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Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.

A teenage girl has escaped from a ‘house of horrors’ and claims that her mother and stepfather kept her locked up for seven years.

Brenda Spencer, 38, and Branndon Mosley, 41, were arrested in the New Jersey town of Gloucester on 11 May after police became aware that an 18-year-old girl had reported being held captive in her own home.

The teenager alleged to detectives that her mother Spencer and stepfather Mosley had been abusing her since 2018, which was around the time she claimed they’d removed her from school when she was in the sixth grade.

Speaking to detectives, the victim alleged that shortly after her mother removed her from school she was ‘forced to live in a dog crate’ for a year.

According to Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, she also said that after her year being forced to live in a dog crate, she was then made to live in a locked bathroom while chained up.

Brenda Spencer, the teenager’s mother, has been charged with kidnapping her own daughter (Camden County Prosecutor’s Office of New Jersey)

The teenager said that she would be let out when family visited the home, and alleged that at other times she was made to live in a bare room with a bucket instead of a toilet that was fitted with an alarm that would let Spencer or Mosley know if she tried to leave, according to investigators.

Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said that the victim also claimed she was beaten with a belt and sexually abused by Mosley.

The girl escaped from the home on 8 May, managing to make it out with the help of a neighbour. She then spoke to the authorities, who on 11 May, arrested and charged Spencer and Mosley.

When detectives searched the house, they ‘found that the victim was subjected to living in squalid conditions alongside numerous dogs, chinchillas, and other animals‘.

The girl’s stepfather Branndon Mosley was charged with kidnapping and sexual assault (Camden County Prosecutor’s Office of New Jersey)

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement: “Detectives learned that a 13-year-old who also lived in the home was removed from school years earlier at Spencer’s discretion as well. Both girls were allegedly homeschooled.”

The 13-year-old girl was also removed by law enforcement officials, according to police.

Spencer and Mosley were both charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, aggravate assault, criminal restraint, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

In addition to the charges they both faced, Mosley has also been charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and a count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Both are in custody and awaiting detention hearings.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.