US: Trans woman kidnapped, used as sex slave by Louisiana trio
A trans woman has escaped from captivity, after being kidnapped and enslaved by a trio in Louisiana.
The woman, who first met two of the perpetrators a BDSM website, was held against her will for several months with a chain around her neck, and used as a ‘sex slave’ by them and a third woman.
The woman – who has anonymity – was beaten, mutilated, shocked with a Taser and had urine thrown over her, while being kept chained, and fed only once a day.
According to the News-Star, she told police that she was eventually able to free herself, stealing one of the perpetrators’ vehicles and fleeing.
Once she escaped, the chain had to be cut from around her neck by firefighters.
The three suspects — David Rodriguez Jr and Christina Marie Harper, 37 and 39, of Pleasant Hill, and Ambre Tubbs Lomas, 39, of Shreveport, turned themselves into police on Wednesday, and are being held in custody.
Bonds for Rodrigues and Harper, who were charged with human trafficking among numerous other offences, have been set at $635,000.
A bond was set for Lomas, who escaped a human trafficking charge but was charged with second-degree kidnapping and aggravated second-degree battery, has been set at $525,000.
Two children that lived in the house, ages 15 and 16, have been taken into care by the State Office of Child Protective Services.
Police have since searched the property, seizing fifteen weapons and a stun gun.
Sheriff Victor Jones Jr. said: “In 30-something years of law enforcement in this area, this is probably one of the most gruesome deals that I’ve ever heard of, and I never experienced anything like it before.”
Carey Etheredge, a criminal investigator and forensic examiner at Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, said: “In this particular case, the victim probably had some depression, going through the sex change and being disowned by her family.
“Suspects prey on people in this situation. They know how to talk to them, what to say to them to make them feel comfortable and make them think they’re coming to live a different life.”
A joint statement from Louisiana Trans Advocates and Equality Louisiana reads: ” [We] are full of grief and sadness today as we learn that a transgender woman has been held captive and tortured by three individuals in the Ajax area of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.
“She was systematically abused, assaulted and dehumanized by her captors for months. Through her remarkable strength and resilient hope, she fought to survive and successfully escaped captivity.
“Though law enforcement are often not allies to transgender women, she was courageous enough to work with them in order to prevent her captors from doing this to anyone else in the future.”
