Teen Girl's Parents Allegedly Kept Her Locked in a Dog Crate for Seven Years — She Finally Escaped
Neighbors said they always suspected something was wrong because they never saw the children outside.
Published May 19 2025, 9:42 a.m. ET
The world has heard of stories like Elizabeth Smart's, the 14-year-old who was abducted at knifepoint from her bedroom in 2002. She lived with her family in a house in Salt Lake City, Utah, and didn't see them again for the next nine months. During that time, Smart was sexually assaulted multiple times by one of her captors. While that is a deeply disturbing and harrowing tale, what happens if your captors are your own family?
In 2025 news broke of two people who were each allegedly imprisoned by their so-called loved ones. The first was in Waterbury, Conn. where a 32-year-old man set fire to his house in order to escape his stepmom, whom he alleges held him captive for two decades. Two months later in May 2025, a New Jersey teen broke free from her home where she alleged her mother and stepfather locked her up for seven years. Here's what we know.
Here's what we know about the New Jersey teen who was allegedly held captive for seven years.
On May 8, 2025, an 18-year-old girl was able to alert a neighbor after she allegedly escaped from the home of Brenda Spencer, 38, and Branndon Mosley, 41, both of Gloucester Township. According to NBC 10 Philadelphia, Spencer, the teen's mother, and Mosley, her stepfather were arrested and charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and other offenses. Mosley was also separately charged with sexual assault.
The young woman told law enforcement that the abuse began in 2018 after she was removed from school and started homeschooling. She was in sixth grade at the time. That's when the teen was allegedly "forced to live in a dog crate for approximately one year and was let out periodically," per the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
Investigators interviewed the victim and took note of scars on her wrists which officials say were from being chained up. At times the teen was allegedly forced to live in a bathroom or a bare room with only a bucket in place of a toilet. While locked up, the 18-year-old told authorities she was sexually abused by Mosely who occasionally beat her with a belt.
Flaws in the current system facilitated this alleged abuse.
Grace MacAulay, Camden County Prosecutor, held a press conference where she described the alleged abuse as "heinous" and said what the young woman survived was "absolutely horrific." A 13-year-old was also living in the home and she had just been removed from school. In New Jersey, a parent or guardian can remove a child if they tell school officials they will be homeschooled. After that, there are no follow-ups.
"Clearly there are flaws in the current educational system," admitted MacAulay. The neighbor who helped the teen told NBC 10 Philadelphia that she wished she knew what was happening in the house. "I would have reported it," they said. Another neighbor said they sort of suspected something wasn't right because they never saw either child leave the home. "That’s kind of always been kind of weird to me," said the neighbor.