One model was drugged, kidnapped and made to have sex at knifepoint with several men. She claims she still has flashbacks and is being held captive. However, she says that she was made to feel insignificant by the police after she reported the crime.
Swedish-born Frida Farrell, now 41, was held as a sex slave in west London for three days 19 years ago, following a chance encounter while walking home from Oxford Street.
The mother-of-one had been duped into visiting a west London photography studio by a ‘friendly Engglish gentleman, believing she was auditioning for a modelling campaign.
However his demeanour changed as soon as he closed the door behind her, as he locked her in and pulled out a knife before she was spiked and raped by around six men.
She managed to escape after three days when her captor forgot to lock the door behind him, and after running for miles got into a taxi and travelled to a friend’s house in Acton.
After being convinced to report her ordeal, Frida says that dubious police made her feel ‘smaller and smaller’ when they questioned why she walked into the flat of her own free will.
Frida Farrell (Swedish-born) was, at 41 years old, made a living as a sex slave for three days in West London 19 years ago after a chance meeting while she was walking back from Oxford Street. Photo taken in 2012.
I started to tell them the story. They were like, “Well, that’s your choice. He didn’t even force you in?’ According to her, he didn’t force you in?
“Why would you ever say such a thing?” I felt smaller, smaller, and eventually I stopped caring. It was really hard to feel insignificant.
Frida, then 23, had recently moved to London to train as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama when she was approached by a ‘friendly’ and ‘very typically English’ man in a suit.
He asked if she wanted to model for a motorcycle campaign and asked her to attend an audition the following day, which took place in a building on Harley Street.
Frida, who lives in LA and is the mother of a four year-old daughter, made her terrifying story into an animated movie called Apartment 407. She wrote and starred in it.
She was offered £7,000 for the job and told to return to the same place the following day, when her ordeal began.
Frida later participated in a documentary about her experience. She said that the moment when she lost control was the most difficult to film.
Recalling her brain’s inability to comprehend ‘what’ was going on, she recalls him ‘freezing’ and adding that ‘T’.When you freeze, that’s when it really is a hat. It is obvious that everything is not right.
“The rest, in hindsight is not my fault. It’s impossible to change,’ he added.
Before being placed at knifepoint and forced to consume a spiked glass milk, she was moved to a new location. There, she was required to have sex only with several men.
Frida was taken prisoner by her captor. He had detach doors and pulled out drawers from the small apartment.
However, after three days in captivity, her captor forgot to lock the door so the young girl fled.
In 2016, Margareta, her mother, told The Daily Mail that it was horrible. Frida called only hours after her escape from the apartment. I was stunned when Frida called me. She cried tears of joy as she explained what had happened.
Frida, pictured in 2013, said there was a lot of ‘back and forth’ with writers about whether or not to be true to Frida’s experience, rather than dramatising scenes
“I booked an immediate flight to London, and I went straight there. It breaks mothers’ hearts to hear their daughter had such an awful experience.
“After arriving in London, I went to the police. They did not believe my story.
“The officer continued to ask her whether she came involuntarily, and what clothing she was wearing. It seemed that they believed that this could never happen in such a high-end neighborhood.
Her captor was not found by police when they searched the area. They discovered that cash had been used to pay for the building on a weekly basis. The criminal then vanished completely.
Frida, who lives in LA and is now a mother to her four-year old daughter, has turned the horrifying story she experienced into her 2018 film Apartment 407.
She told the Sun there was a lot of ‘back and forth’ with writers about whether or not to be true to Frida’s experience, rather than dramatising scenes – but they ultimately decided to portray exactly what happened during the ordeal.
Frida turned her horrifying ordeal in the film Selling Isobel, also called Apartment 407, which she wrote and starred in (pictured)
Frida said there was a lot of ‘back and forth’ with writers about whether or not to be true to her experience, rather than dramatising scenes – but they decided to reveal exactly what happened during the ordeal. Pictured, Frida in Apartment 407
“In reality, it’s that you freeze. You want to be as small as possible, so the person doesn’t have to use a knife on your body,” she explained.
“It is not dramatic, but we decided to go with reality. It was very important for us to tell the truth.
The mother has previously warned that her horrific ordeal could happen to anyone – describing herself as ‘just a normal girl’.
Speaking to the Huffington Post in 2018, Frida said: ‘[A]Any woman, any girl can be taken and placed in this position. Anybody is for sale. You are nothing more than a corpse.
They don’t care what your origin is or who you are. It was like any other girl in the class. I was just an ordinary girl. This happened because I was walking back home at night.
Frida described the impact it had on her life and explained that she chose to leave London where her captors lived.
“I loved going out with my friends and drinking wine. But it was difficult for me to find my place now. She said, “What if they saw me?”