Man accused of human trafficking in Gary after woman says she was held, beaten, forced into sex
GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- Police in Gary, Indiana arrested a man on charges of human trafficking this week, after a woman told police she was being held against her will.
The woman also said she was beaten, and forced to have sex with different men.
At 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, Gary police officers were called to a home in the 2500 block of Jefferson Street.
The Lake County, Indiana Central Dispatcher had received a call earlier from a 27-year-old woman who said she had been battered by a man in the home who had broken her nose. The woman said she was afraid of the man, and was calling him from the kitchen when she herself was in the bedroom, police said.
The woman asked dispatchers not to notify police because it would make things worse. But the dispatchers did notify police, as well as paramedics.
Officers came to the home and tried to contact the caller, but an angry man behind a closed door told the officers to go away. The officers asked to speak with the woman who had called, but he told her no such person lived there, police said.
Officers then heard a woman's voice say she did not call police, and only wanted paramedics. Police told the man they were not going anywhere until paramedics saw the woman.
After several minutes of dialogue with the suspect, the victim came from the back of the house and was seen by paramedics and patrol officers, police said.
As paramedics treated her, the woman told officers she had come to the home three months earlier with a group of girls – and the homeowner wouldn't allow her to leave. She said a man at the home held her against her will, beat her, and forced her to have sex with other men.
The victim was taken to an area hospital. Meanwhile, a detective got an arrest warrant for the man and a search warrant for the home. Gary SWAT was notified and executed the warrant – arresting a 34-year-old Gary man.
He faces charges of sexual human trafficking, criminal recklessness, criminal confinement, and battery, police said. Police have not released his name.
Drugs were also recovered from the home.
Anyone with information about human trafficking is asked to call police in Gary at (219) 881-1252 or (219) 881-1210.