Bulgaria-Arrested Briton Denies Enslaving Girls
Mercedes Farquharson, 63, who was arrested in Bulgaria in July, having allegedly been on the run for three years after being indicted for keeping her kids in slavery, has pleaded not guilty.
A woman who is accused of forcing three girls into servitude by beating them and claiming she was Christ has been extradited to the United States from Bulgaria to face federal charges.
British national Mercedes Farquharson, 63, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2006, and arrested in Bulgaria in July.
She appeared before a federal magistrate in Charlotte for the first time on Monday.
According to the indictment, Farquharson persuaded the mother of two of the children to let them live with her by claiming to be a god. She legally adopted the third child. All three of the children are British nationals.
The children were 11, 7 and 2 years old when they started living with Farquharson, the indictment says.
Starting in 1992 they lived in Marbella, Spain, until Farquharson moved them to a house on Hampton Downs Road in Monroe in 2001. They lived there until 2005.
Farquharson allegedly convinced the children she was a god.
The indictment claims she forced them to work from before dawn until after midnight cooking, cleaning, weeding gardens and tending to a flock of about 100 chickens.
She's also accused of beating the children, preventing them from going to school or leaving the house and feeding them caffeine so they could work longer.
Farquharson is in federal custody, pending a detention hearing set for Thursday.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
A new mobile application has been launched in Bulgaria, offering crucial assistance and support to victims in need
A bus with Bulgarian registration veered off its path, resulting in 11 injuries, two of which are reported to be severe
Over the next 24 hours, expect cloudy skies with rainfall across the eastern half of the country, where precipitation may be intense in some areas. Meanwhile, the western half will see clouds clearing during the day, becoming mostly sunny
In response to the recent deaths of two newborns due to whooping cough, the Ministry of Health in Bulgaria has implemented measures to curb the spread of the disease
Amidst growing discontent among taxi operators across Bulgaria, drivers in major cities like Burgas, Varna, and now Plovdiv are demanding a substantial hike in fares to cope with rising operational costs
Two infants from Kyustendil have tragically lost their lives after contracting whooping cough
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022