At least two women have come forward to accuse an Oklahoma man of holding them captive for months and sexually assaulting them. The women claim that they failed to come forward at the time the incidents occurred because they were afraid of him. Now, their alleged captor and abuser is facing numerous charges, including kidnapping, assault and battery, and rape, among other crimes.
Both women claim that the man maintained control of them by threatening their lives and the lives of their families. One of them claims she was allowed to go to work, but always had to return. She claims she put up with the abuse out of fear until a co-worker let her move in with him. Supposedly, the man held her for more than a year.
The other woman claims her alleged captor got her pregnant, but she managed to leave the home where she says she was kept captive before the birth of the child. She says that over the course of eight months, she was choked in addition to being sexually assaulted. This woman left once, but the Oklahoma man told her to come back with him, and she did — allegedly under duress.
Regardless of how heinous these women’s stories may be, the man accused of rape, kidnapping and other crimes is entitled to legal help and is still presumed innocent of the charges until guilt is proved. Prosecutors will be responsible for proving the veracity of the women’s stories beyond a reasonable doubt in court. If there is any doubt that the man is guilty of the charges, he cannot be convicted.
Source: kfor.com, “Women who claim they were held captive, raped by Oklahoma man talk about how they escaped“, Dallas Franklin, April 7, 2015
