Indianapolis Metropolitan police are searching for a man who they say kidnapped and raped a woman found chained in a basement, the Indianapolis Star reports.
According to court documents, Maurice Nelson, 28, is accused of abducting and torturing the 23-year-old victim, who was held as a prisoner. A neighbor reportedly heard the woman's screams and called police around 6:20 p.m. on July 14. Police cut through a padlock on the door, forced the front door open and went into the basement, where they found the naked woman, handcuffed and shackled with a chain around her neck.
According to the report, another chain connected the chain around her neck to a pole, and another connected the shackles on her ankles to a floor bolt.
The victim told investigators that she met Nelson on July 10 after speaking via a telephone chat line. Nelson allegedly picked her up at a hotel where she had been staying, and she agreed to go to his home, according to the Star.
Once inside Nelson's home, the woman said, they started having sex, but Nelson stopped at some point and sprayed her with pepper spray.
Nelson then allegedly overpowered the victim, handcuffed her and forced her into the basement. The victim said that Nelson claimed to be a police officer and pretended to talk in a police radio. Nelson then chained the victim up, beat her with a baton and raped her at least four times over the next four days, the victim recounted.
The woman said that Nelson sometimes rewarded her for "good" behavior by taking off her handcuffs for a while. However, he told the victim that if she tried to escape, he would let his two pit bulls attack her.
Charges filed against Nelson include rape, criminal confinement and battery. An arrest warrant has been issued and police have been looking for Nelson for two weeks, the Star notes.
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