Illinois Horror: Teen Escapes House Where She Was Allegedly Raped & Tortured for More Than Three Years
- Posted on August 24, 2012 at 5:52pm by
Becket Adams
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WASHINGTON PARK, Ill. (TheBlaze/AP) — A teenager held captive in a house for more than three years before escaping with a relative‘s help initially went there voluntarily but wasn’t allowed to leave when she wanted to go home, an Illinois police chief said Friday.
Washington Park Police Chief David Clark said the 19-year-old St. Louis woman bolted from the home Monday and told investigators her time in captivity included almost daily beatings and sexual assaults. One of those attacks resulted in a now-2-year-old boy rescued when a police SWAT team raided the home Thursday and arrested a 25-year-old man and his mother, Clark said.
The police chief said the three days between the teen’s report and the raid on the home was largely spent substantiating her story. Clark also said investigators were working a separate sexual-assault case and lacked the manpower to go any faster.
Members of the Madison County tactical response team take a two-year-old child to a waiting ambulance Thursday evening, Aug. 23, 2012 in Washington Park, Ill. The child was rescued after a teenage girl reported missing more than two years ago escaped from a home and went to police, saying her child was still in the house. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, J.B. Forbes)
No charges have been filed in the case. Clark wouldn’t publicly identify the suspect, his mother or the teenager, citing the ongoing investigation.
He said investigators planned to have the child’s DNA tested to determine whether the man is his father.
St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly, the county’s top prosecutor, told The Associated Press on Friday that conditions in the home were “definitely deplorable.”
Initial evidence suggests that “some of the details are consistent with what the young lady is saying, and I think there’s something to it.” he said. “We’re still trying to figure out what the heck is going on.”
Clark said the teenager met the man socially “through someone else when they were partying, and a relationship built,” eventually leading to her visit of his home about the time she was reported missing.
“When she (soon) decided to go back to her parents, he wouldn’t allow it,” Clark said.
He said the man’s mother helped detain the young woman and helped falsify medical records when she bore her son in the first year of her captivity. The teen told investigators the man and his mother coerced her into using a false name when giving birth to conceal that she was under-aged, Clark said.
Police arrested a 25-year-old man and his mother.
The young woman has told police she repeatedly tried to escape the house, which is on Washington Park’s busiest street and next door to a convenience store, just a half mile from a freeway. But her captor chased her down each time and forced her back to the home at gunpoint, Clark said.
Washington Park is a village of 4,200 people tucked on the edge of East St. Louis in one of Illinois’ poorest regions. Known for its strip clubs and poverty, the community has grappled for years with corruption and violent crime punctuated by the 2010 shooting death of the village’s mayor, John Thornton.
The village twice has filed for bankruptcy since 2004, the last time in 2009.
Neighborhood children watch as members of the Madison County tactical response team secure the house Thursday evening, Aug. 23, 2012 in Washington Park, Ill. (AP photo)
Neighbors told The Associated Press they had little reason to suspect anything amiss at the one-story bungalow on a parcel cluttered with trash, including a stack of six mildewing mattresses on a concrete slab surrounded by tall weeds. A child’s car seat, baby stroller and car tires were nearby.
A neighbor, Lakeitha Smith, opened her front door a crack and told the AP that during the few times she saw the young woman outside, the teenager didn’t appear bruised or traumatized. Smith said the man would step away from the home at times with the toddler, who “looked like a healthy baby,” and often came to Smith’s house, where he played with her 3-year-old son.
“They was like normal people,” Smith said. “I really didn’t know what was going on over there. I never knew it was something like that.”
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Comments (62)
slvrserfr
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:13amThis same thing happened in Birmingham, Michigan a couple of years ago – woman named Theresa Flores was held captive for 2 years where it is believed that human trafficking has become a common trend in the state.
Report Post »muddpuddle
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:06pmI don’g get it….it’s bad enough sitting in traffic in your car. Imagine how bad it would be if you had to stand there and just be human traffic….. no A/C, no radio, everybody looking at you…. human trafficking is stupid.
Report Post »billrow
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:42amTypical
Report Post »peanuts327
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:07pm8 years of Bush took there toll I guess.
Report Post »338lapua
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:48am“they was like normal people”
Report Post »If THAT is normal, than seal that area off……and level it.
myway
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 9:06amI have lots of things to say, but the pictures tell all.
Report Post »jtoddsherman
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 5:15amI cannot imagine such atrocities coming from an “African American” community . . . better call out the New Black Panther Party to protect “the people” from the “Black Holocaust” orchestrated the White Man in that particular “Hood!” Oh, yeah and Eric Holder too! So that he as the top law enforcement officer in the land can ensure the protection of the N.B.P.P. . . . since they are always being falsely accused of committing crimes.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 2:31amIf this was an Islamic Nation… I could better understand it!
Report Post »Zuitsuit
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:48amMy wife got out of the basement last week, I still havent found her
Report Post »earthbonz
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:46pmLevity. Brilliant. That’s something I would say.
Report Post »colt1860
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:51amAccording to our corrupt, radical, socially Marxist, liberal Supreme Court and “justice” system, rapists deserve to live and be fed three meals a day on our dime and with our resources…
“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that child rapists cannot be executed, concluding that capital punishment for crimes against individuals can be applied only to murderers.” http://articles.cnn.com/2008-06-25/justice/scotus.child.rape_1_child-rapists-capital-punishment-patrick-kennedy?_s=PM:CRIME
If you forcefully and violently bring a life into this world violating all rights a Women has (dignity, humility, liberty, happiness, innocence) you deserve neither Life nor Liberty. I cherish the Rights and noble position of Women in our society too much to let a rapist spend his life being taken care of by our tax dollars or be out in 15 years and have the opportunity of doing the same heinous act to another innocent Women. Justice and morality must rule the day. Evil doers must be handed exact judgement. Enough with this liberal sensitivity, lets hold hands with criminals and evil doers nonsense. A rapist violates almost every imaginable virtue and right of a women and commits one of the worst and most despicable acts known to mankind and should not be treated kindly or have his action weighed lightly. I do not sympathize with or hold compassion for any rapist, nor should judges.
Report Post »TASS50
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:28amWhat is the matter with men these days that they can just go out and rape women and children. That is all you hear. What so good is that they get caught and serve time with bubba in their cell block having his way. I think rape should be unde the death penalty.
Report Post »Curtman41
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 1:58pm@TASS50 Sin has been a part of this world since the creation of man. Sin is not gender bias. Both men and women are sinners and sin in a fallen world. Women sin as much as men do. I just wanted to point that out.
Report Post »Listen_then_think
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 10:20pmIllinois, of course.
Report Post »misteryuck
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:54pmLooks like New Orleans to me….
This must be Bush’s fault by the way….
Report Post »Christianmyson
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 6:05amWhich oneol lol
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:27pmI am familiar with Washington Park & East St. Louis. Won’t go near either one of them. Per news reports earlier this evening (either local KMOV or FOX), an auntie of the man says that this was a “long relationship” & they had a fight & this was the girl’s way of revenge. Whatever, auntie. The girl probably had no access to a phone. The authorities said the living conditions were deplorable & the house has now been condemned. I think we need more info here before accepting what has been reported. To Melika, who said that she/he can imagine what this area is like (ie: Chicago, Newark, Chester, or Camden), I have to say that nothing, nowhere, can compare to the slum life in these two hell holes. If this family is guilty of an heinous crime such as they have been accused, I hope they are punished t the full extent of the law.
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:39pmIllinois……huh…….the one place the Native Americans would not want back!
Report Post »ColoradoCassie
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 9:37pmJHAYDENG, I live in Illinois and I don’t want it back. Damned liberal Democrats have ruined our state and the idiot voters keep voting them in. I do believe the large part of the state is conservative but the idiots in “Crook” County and the other surrounding counties of Chicago are what swings votes in the direction of the libs. Can’t fix stupid in Illinois.
Report Post »Pontiac
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:06pmMust not have been “legitimate rape”.
Report Post »Pontiac
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 11:38pmIf you cannot distinguish the biological differences between an embryo and a fully formed child, that’s your problem. The rest of civilization doesn’t go ape squeeze over a group of cells void of neurological function.
Report Post »colt1860
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:35amHere are some scientific facts to consider:
“Day 22: heart begins to beat with the child’s own blood, often a different type than the mothers’.”
nrlc.org/abortion/facts/fetaldevelopment.html
“5 weeks: Also the placenta begins functioning, known as the chorionic villi and the umbilical cord, through which the baby will receive nourishment and oxygen.”
baby2see.com/development/first_trimester.html
“The placenta has been described as a pancake-shaped organ that attaches to the inside of the uterus and is connected to the fetus by the umbilical cord…The placenta is responsible for working as a trading post between the mother‘s and the baby’s blood supply. Small blood vessels carrying the fetal blood run through the placenta, which is full of maternal blood. Nutrients and oxygen from the mother’s blood are transferred to the fetal blood, while waste products are transferred from the fetal blood to the maternal blood, without the two blood supplies mixing.”
Report Post »americanpregnancy.org/duringpregnancy/fetallifesupportsystem.html
Rightlife
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 11:43amHere is a fact for you… Embryos Taste Great!
Report Post »Master_and_Commander
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:57pmSo many snotty-nosed junior high trolls rampaging across the Blaze these days. I feel bad for them really, must be sad being the wasted offspring of their parents…
Report Post »breakobamanow
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:51pmAnd the most important quote was “They was like normal people”, I guess you can call anything normal behavior in today’s Godless society. O’ come Lord Jesus and fix this awful mess man has made following the ruler of this world.
Report Post »pierrepierre
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 5:41pmWe need to fix it ourselves.
Report Post »MastrSSG
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:32pmWhat’s the matter with you people? “Jackboots”? Calling out the tactical team for being at a Hostage situation which is SOP for all hostage situations where they did a great job. And finally questioning the victim for not calling out for help when YOU think she might have had a chance? Who are you people?
Report Post »FREEDOMoverFEAR
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:53pmThis story is BS. What she didn’t tell the doctors at the hospital where she gave birth that she was kidnapped? When she went to the neighbors she didn’t try and say anything? She just played dominoes and drank Old Eglish.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:55pmFREEDOMoverFEAR
Report Post »Maybe you are right. Then again it could Stockholm syndrome
MastrSSG
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:26amListen I know a woman who was a slave in a home for 11 yrs to everyone it appeared she was a maid and nanny but in the home she was a sex slave maid nanny and was scared out of her mind to do anything about it. She even went out to wash the man’s car everyday rain or shine and was able to go shopping for the family’s food. When she finally escaped with the help of a neighbor it took years for her to get past the fear of her captors enough to be alone for any length of time.
As an interrogator and SERE instructor there were many times I made grown adults cry and break down. And those people knew it was training. Fear can make people do things you wouldn’t imagine. It’s amazing how many ways you can manipulate another human being.
Report Post »MastrSSG
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 12:30am@ FREEDOMoverFEAR
Give me a week alone with you as a hostage and I bet I can break you and make you as submissive to me as I wanted you to be.
Report Post »RAMJR
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:09pmWonder if this will be ignored by the Liberal media, or if ‘political party’ will be attached to these monsters. I believe God is going to expose a lot of evil, that men and women do under their own free will. A strong reason to pull exceptions on those under the death penalty, to be executed the day after conviction, not any deals where they end up getting fan mail, book deals and celebrity status.
Report Post »GoodStuff
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:48pmBoth the mom and son deserve the death penalty!
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:24pmLook at the militaristic getup those jackboots are dressed up in! Yeah guys, those cammies totally hid you.
Report Post »MastrSSG
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:41pmIt’s a SWAT team and it’s called tactical gear. What is your problem? Why are these guys “Jackboots” to you? They saved a girl who was raped and held hostage. Yes the people accused are innocent until proven guilty but they were arrested with caution and care. No one was trying to be sneaky or harm anyone including the perpetrators.
Report Post »GoodStuff
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:47pmRuPaul kook alert.
Report Post »db321
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:53pmWhat did Rush mean when he said that America can probably survive another 4 years of an Obama Presidency, but we may not survive with a Country full of people that would vote for him. I just don’t understand what he meant by that statement.
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:15pmMasterr, pay attention. My point had little to do with this incident, and everything to do with the militarising of our police departments. Our founding fathers warned against this and for good reason. Obama has already hinted that he wants the power to suspend Posse Comitatus.
Goodstuff, I’ll be voting for Romney, thank you. It’s easy to dismiss those who see a wolf at the door as paranoid. That makes you a sheep. Baaaaa.
Report Post »Steverino
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:18pmDB321-
Report Post »My take on Rush was that if we (they) are stupid enough as a country to reelect him, we’re (they’re) stupid enough to swallow anything else they choose to do to us.
Steve
kenboo1
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 10:53pmdb321
Report Post »Yes you do!!
MastrSSG
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 2:11pm@Dirty Harry?
Report Post »A guy named after a law breaking brutal famed Police officer character tells me that men in tactical gear doing their job well are “jackboots” because our forefathers warned us about militarizing our police. Frankly you have no idea what you’re talking about. This is a hostage situation it’s SOP to use SWAT for this kind of operation, they aren’t going through the streets cutting pie and forcing citizens comply with some mythical general order.
Next time you’re in trouble and need help why don’t you call Starsky and Hutch.
Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:24pmI’ll bet Milee Cyrus had something to do with it..
Report Post »AngryDwarf
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:16pm“Next week on Maury……..”
Report Post »TexasHunter
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:15pmThere are more riddles in this story than a Dr. Sues book. Get the facts then make a story please.
Report Post »jespasinthru
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:17pmI was thinking the same thing. It‘s like they’re trying to manipulate our minds by pushing us down another rabbit hole….
Report Post »woodyee
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:15pmAND ANOTHER thing – “Neighborhood children watch as members of the Madison County tactical response team secure the house Thursday evening, Aug. 23, 2012 in Washington Park, Ill. (AP photo)”
Are police forces around the country being replaced by “tactical response teams”? Are meter maids being replaced by police officers being replaced by the “tactical response teams”?
Are these “tactical response teams” made up of members of the city’s hired guns? Or is this just another “hidden layer” of law enforcement, like the armed ASPCA and ‘Social Security’s” and TSA’s armed goons?
Responsible US citizens want to know.
Report Post »ColoradoCassie
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 9:40pmI think I saw posted somewhere last month that St. Louis had a military convoy go through the main streets of their city. Something fishy there. People were told it was a military exercise or some made up lie.
Report Post »copey99
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 10:02amYea i never heard of a SWAT team before.
Report Post »Larry E
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:10pmLet’s see, nobody knows where the young woman is for three years, there‘s a false mother’s name on the birth certificate, so whether or not she was physically tortured she was obviously kidnapped. The last I heard that was illegal, even in IL.
Report Post »woodyee
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:06pmSo the kidnapped young lady was too…too…too…AH! words escape me here – let me be polite…
…too TRAUMATIZED to slip the doctor or nurse a note (when giving birth), or even a mere whisper in the ear to say “Please call the police. I’m a captive victim of kidnapping”?
No phone call to mama or papa, or a friend to say “Hep me! Get me out of here!”. No?
Eh-que me?
Report Post »ObamaBinBiden
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:14pmYep, seems fishy to me too.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 6:33pmIt’s East St. Louis, she may not have been able to read or write. I took one look at the picture and said, that looks like East St. Louis, before I read the article. If you’ve never been there, you can’t imagine how bad it is.
Report Post »Melika
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:09pmWell, if anyone has been to Chicago, Newark, Chester, or Camden they can easily imagine how bad it is. There are plenty more places like those around the country, so yeah, we can imagine how bad it is. I can’t imagine anyone not being able to dial a phone or 911, or simply tell the doctors & nurses at a hospital.
Report Post »face.chewer
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 7:39pmThat seems common. I believe that Elizabeth Smart, the mormon girl held captive, also was in public but feared to say anything. They usually threaten to kill their parents if they try to escape.
It’s weird that there is usually a woman involved besides the male pervert.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on August 25, 2012 at 6:52am@face.chewer
Report Post »Funny you should say there’s usually a woman involved. I was abused at the age of 4-5 by my babysitter’s 18-19 year old son. I never told my parents until I was out of the situation (we moved). I had flashbacks some 40 years later that revealed the mother knew and was involved.
Meyvn
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 9:09pmSure dumbass.
Report Post »Independent4233
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 9:34pmYeah, and if Obama had a son, he would look the guy they have in custody.
Report Post »Independent4233
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 9:40pmVerceofreason
Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:43pm
“At least no one was gay!”
Wrong. If you look closely you’ll see a white bed sheet on a flag pole in back with a picture of a twinkie in the middle.
Hahahahahaha!
Report Post »