These 'sick individuals' caged and forced autistic woman into prostitution

A 22-year-old woman with autism was held captive in this 6-by-8-foot in Tangipahoa parish, whose parish seat is Amite City , Louisiana, USA.



The autstoc woman, whose identity is being kept under wraps, was forced into prostitution and the People who caged her have been described as sick individuals by officials.

She may have been living in her unimaginable conditions for about nine months before deputies rescued her last week, says the  Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards.

Investigators found the woman malnourished, covered in insect bites and living in a shrub-covered, 6-by-8-foot cage outside a Rushing Lane home, with all her belongings which were a small bowl of spoiled food, a mattress and a 5-gallon bucket in which to defecate.

Her captors — Sheriff Edwards said they were “somewhat related” to the woman but declined to elaborate so as not to identify the victim — had forced the woman to perform sexual acts on several people and had planned to take her to a specific location for sexual acts with “a large group of people” in exchange for the captors receiving money, the sheriff said.

“The lesson here, as far as I can tell, is that there are some very sick individuals in this world, and there are some sick individuals within Tangipahoa Parish,” Edwards said. “Human trafficking doesn’t discriminate. It exists in Shreveport. It exists in New Orleans. It exists in Tangipahoa Parish. It exists in St. Tammany Parish. It exists everywhere there are people.”

Frequently kept locked in the cage and threatened with her life if she ever escaped, the woman appeared to have lost about 60 pounds during her captivity, Edwards said.

The suspects are in custody on counts of human trafficking and cruelty to the autistic woman are Terry Knope, 43; Raylaine Knope, 40; Taylor Knope, 18; Jody Lambert, 21; and Bridget Lambert, 19.

All five are to remain in the Tangipahoa Parish Prison until $150,000 bail each, is paid, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Dawn Panepinto said.

The woman was taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment, then placed in the care and custody of Louisiana Department of Health’s Adult Protective Services.

Four other minor children, who didn't appear malnourished ages 7 and younger,  were removed from the home and placed in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, the sheriff said.

It has not been ascertained hether they had been sexually abused. Investigators have reason to believe the children witnessed some of the treatment of the 22-year-old woman, he said.

Edwards was visibly shaken throughout the news conference on Friday.

“To live in these conditions, anywhere in the world, is unacceptable,” he said. “In the United States, it’s unimaginable.”

Investigators believe the woman had been forcibly held in the outdoor hovel since at least October, after her mother’s death in August, though they don't believe she was abused in her mother's lifetime.

Source: firstcoastnews.c

Contributed photo by the Tangipahoa sheriff's office