Teenager held prisoner, beaten and raped daily for two years

A teenage girl in Missouri, USA, was beaten and raped daily for two years - and forced to have her captor's baby.

Held prisoner in a house shared by her 24-year-old attacker's mother, the 19-year-old had been missing since 2010 until she escaped on Thursday (23 August 2012).

Several previous attempts to escape failed after she was chased, recaptured at gunpoint and dragged back to the horror house.

The distraught youngster also told police she was forced by the man and his mother to give a false name to medics during pregnancy and when the child was born.

Following her escape a heavily armed SWAT team raided the house in Washington Park, Illinois, and arrested a man and his mother.

They also rescued the victim's baby from the suburban house, next to a petrol station.

Police Chief David Clark said they believe the man's mother had helped him with the crimes.

Two dozen police commandos, wearing helmets and body armour, swarmed the home with assault rifles drawn.

One officer carried the child from the home, shielding the toddler with a sheet, to a waiting ambulance.

Police in St Louis, Missouri, had listed the girl as a missing or runaway juvenile since her disappearance.

She told police this week she was able to escape with help from a relative.

She said that she had been held against her will and was beaten and sexually assaulted almost every day.

Neighbour Lakeitha Smith told several local TV reporters that she saw the girl from time to time outside the house and never witnessed anything that would raise concern.

"I used to see her come out of the house, back and forth," Smith said. "I didn't think that she was being held hostage there."

Comments