Man Who Kept Woman Captive For 10 Years Charged With Kidnapping, Rape

A man who abducted his ex-girlfriend’s 15-year-old daughter and held her captive for 10 years was charged Thursday with rape and kidnapping to commit a sexual offense.

Isidro Medrano Garcia’s 25-year-old victim escaped Monday after nearly ten years of imprisonment and assault, calling police for help after reconnecting with her sister on Facebook.

The victim told Santa Ana police that Garcia drugged and kidnapped her when he was living with her mother in August 2004. The assaults, she said, had begun two months prior.

“He told her then, ‘You can’t go home. You’re here illegally, you don’t speak the language, your mom’s called the police, they will send you back. I’m your only hope,'” Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said at a Thursday press conference.

Police say that the victim tried to escape twice and was severely beaten. Garcia and his victim moved to several different locations and, eventually, she was no longer physically restrained. Garcia got them employment at the same night cleaning service to keep her close by. She was forced into marriage in 2007 and gave birth in 2012.

Garcia faces five felony counts and will be arraigned later Thursday.

[AP]