“After 30-something years of law enforcement in this area, this is one of the most gruesome deals that I’ve ever heard of,” Sheriff Victor Jones, an officer in Natchitoches, Louisiana, said during a press conference over the weekend and reported by The Town Talk.
Jones was referring to an incident that happened on Saturday night, when a transwoman approached Assistant Police Chief Shelby Borders at a gas station in Natchitoches. She was disheveled and covered in bruises and lacerations. Her body was wrapped in a metal logging chain.
“It was a shock to start with,” Chief Borders said during the press conference. “She stated she had been held captive. She was real frantic. There was a lot of fast talk. I had never seen anything to this extent before. My initial reaction was to focus on the needs at hand — make sure the scene was safe, see if anyone was following the victim, and meet her medical needs.”
The woman, who is in her early 50s and whose name has not been released, was taken to a local hospital where she was treated for her injuries. The logging chain had to be removed by firefighters.
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She told police that she had spent the past two years in captivity in Ajax, Louisiana, a small rural town with a population of less than 50.
Authorities claim that the woman, who was originally from Minnesota, first met David Rodriguez, Jr. and his wife Christina Harper online around two years ago. She agreed to move in with the couple. Shortly afterwards, things took a turn for the worst.
The woman was turned into a slave, forced to perform daily chores, hard labor, and humiliating sexual acts. If she refused, she was punished by either Rodriguez or his friend, Ambre Lomas.
In addition to this treatment, she was give a “slave tattoo,” registered online as Rodriguez and Harper’s “slave,” and forced to sleep in a makeshift coffin at the foot of their bed.
“They had built a 3-by-5 wooden box in the master bedroom at the floor of the bed,” said Detective Tim Key told the press. “And this was her living conditions, where she slept every night.”
Her captors also carved their initials into her skin, shot her with a stun gun, and doused her with urine.
About two months ago, the woman begged to be released. When she did, police say her captors flew into a rage.
“A 35-foot chain was put around her neck and she was locked up,” Key said.
She was stripped naked and chained outside, and was denied any food or water for two days and nights.
Eventually, she managed to escape. She stole her captor’s car and drove to Natchitoches, where she found Assistant Police Chief Shelby Borders. Shortly thereafter, the three suspects were arrested.
Rodriguez and Harper were each booked with one count of human trafficking, one count of aggravated second-degree battery, one count of second-degree kidnapping/false imprisonment and two counts of offenses against computer users. Bond for them was set at $635,000. Lomas was booked with one count of second-degree kidnapping/false imprisonment and one count of aggravated second-degree battery. Bond for her was set at $525,000.
H/t: LGBTQNation
cformusic
i don’t even wanna know what the wife’s role was in this mess. yuck!
BrianZ
Holy fuck! All that and bond is a measly 635k? I hope this woman gets the help she needs and the justice she deserves.
UpInTheGallery
I am pleased by the respectful tone of the article from Louisiana. I hope they can come up with some stiffer charges so those people go away for a long time. The article in the Louisiana newspaper says sentences for human trafficking can be up to 10 years.
UpInTheGallery
@cformusic: IKWYM. And to make matters worse they have 2 teenagers who were removed from the scene.
Lvng1tor
This is not victim blaming at all but some people are so desperate to find a “family” they can belong to they put themselves into dangerous situations. No one would ever expect to have something like this happen but we need to focus on mental health and respect for our fellow humans. I pray she gets the help she will need to one day hopefully have a good life. I hope these sadistic evil sub human monsters burn.
Teeth
I just hope that they didn’t use the t-y word! That’s the real issue facing transexual, right?
femonanon
@Teeth: this human lived in HELL for 2 years and all you can come up with is a flippant remark? you need to check yourself
Saralikesyarr
I’m really glad that the tone of this article is so respectful and concerned. That really says a lot about how our country is coming along in terms respect for transgender people. I’m glad this woman is free of her ordeal, and can begin the process of recovery.
corvaspikenard
@Teeth: This really isn’t the the time or place to raise that. Please show a little respect and sympathy for what this woman went through.
doug105
Given rabid Christianity that infests Louisiana (like KKK friend and would be Sen. Tony Perkins), the biggest surprise is they didn’t return her to her master’s.
When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. Exodus 21:20-21
AzLights
@Teeth: Your disgusting! Unbelievable that you would have the GALL to write something like this. You need help.
murphy0071
@doug105: Put your Bible where the sun don’t shine. All this disgusting issue is acceptable to many in the Pee Potty and to many evangelicals who believe women are chattel.
doug105
@murphy0071: Read slowly I don’t believe any of that crap.
Teeth
I don’t care that you’re angry with me– my point is valid: The hell that this woman went through is the REAL DEAL kind of thing we should be worrying about. Not the hurt feelings of people who don’t like drag queen culture.
corvaspikenard
@Teeth: No, your point isn’t valid. No one has said that the horrendous things this woman suffered in any way equates to the simple use of an offensive word.
You’re trying to shoehorn the ‘Tranný’ debate into this topic just because it’s about a trans woman.
Save it for a relevant discussion. This isn’t one.
Teeth
@corvaspikenard: It is, you stupid cow. It;s about keeping your eye on the real issues.
Lvng1tor
@murphy0071: I understand your rage but it’s misplaced at @doug105: That is not what he was saying. You and he are saying the same thing and are both (along with me) disgusted by how women, children and others are treated by too many.
@Teeth: Your response is inappropriate for this post. If you can’t see that then it says more about you as a human than what you actually wrote.
Everyone please stop responding to those who only seek to instigate anger and divisiveness among us. Debate is fine in the right place and time. Be an adult and keep it where it belongs
corvaspikenard
@Teeth: You’re being abusive, stop.
The real issue is that this woman was enslaved, raped and tortured.
But you want to turn her horrific story into an excuse to bag some people who dislike a word.
But by all means, continue trying to justify yourself by insulting me.
masc4masc
sounds like role play gone awry. lol
Mezaien
DON`T FORGET! you talking about Louisiana, one of the most fucked up state (after Arizona) in the country. Send all whites back to Europe.
james_in_cambridge
God help the poor victim when the rabidly religious Louisiana jury gets the case after the defense paints her as someone who’s deranged and clearly asked for it – she is “abnormal” after all. She’ll be victimized all over again…
toberlin
We have another legal system in Germany.Therer are no juries.Just jugdes and laywers.The legal and ethical standards are much more the same for ALL people.No legal uneducated juries define here what is “normal” or “abnormal” or right/wrong.The Law defines it.The personal opinion is important but in my opinion always discussable, in a legal case anyway.And the USA is a Democracy.Hopefully the “rapidly religious Louisiana” remember that and treat her like every other citizen
toberlin
And if people think here I say this because I got raped. No.But I know from own personal very painful experience what it means to stand outside the law.There is a huge difference between having and getting your Right.And not everything what is legal is right in my book.But that is my own personal opinion and my personal ethical standart.
gskorich
what happened to this person was horrible. we seem to forget she met these people on line and agreed to move in with them. what was the agreement at that time? is that fact that this person identifies as a transsexual have anything to do with the story otherwise that they are one? does this person have a history of picking up and moving in with people she doesn’t know?
Cam
I’m glad to hear that the police did not try to excuse some of this because of her identification.
Ugh, that poor woman.
Spike
This is beyond effed up.
Figures back roads Louisiana.
DonW
@masc4masc: There’s nothing “LOL” about this situation, you vile piece of sh*t.
james_in_cambridge
@gskorich: And “blame the victim” begins…on a gay website too. Imagine what straight Louisiana will do to her.
gskorich
@james_in_cambridge: i am not blaming anyone, i am simply asking how she ended up there in the first place. its called personal responsibility. now that being said, what happened was horrible and these people will be punished but i’m only asking what the defense attorney will be saying.
ingyaom
@gskorich: I agree. I am sure there is a lot more to this story. What is the trans angle? Trans is only mentioned in the title, while the victim is referred to as a female in the story.
Andrew Yang
@Lvng1tor: Thanks for your voice of reason and maturity my friend.
Andrew Yang
I am delighted at how the police handled this matter. I hope the courts will follow suit.
LynneaofHeaven
I wonder what role the transgender porn publication, “Forced Womanhood” might have had a role to play with the perpetrators of this crime, seeing that there is a cult following in this area. While the idea of forced feminization and slavery has long been a theme in BDSM, this completely violates the ethics generally espoused in BDSM practice.
While fantasy can run away in reality, it should be understood that this is one case among many in history including in the United States. Back in the Barbary Coast days homeless male youth were feminized for prostitution. When their masters tired of them they typically found themselves on the bottom of the bay.
I have learned of other like incidents in recent years in Russia as well.