Missouri woman escapes month-long captivity as sex slave

The unidentified 22-year-old was picked up by 39-year-old Timothy Haslett Jr. on Prospect Street in Excelsior Springs, Missouri in early September, then allegedly taken to his home and kept in a small room that he had constructed in his basement, according to the Daily Mail.

The woman says she was restrained with handcuffs on her wrists and ankles and repeatedly whipped and raped for nearly a month. When she escaped, she had a metal collar soldered to her neck, as well as duct tape. Her injuries were consistent with her allegations.

She said she was only able to escape on Friday after Haslett brought his son to school. The details of how she managed to get out of the house are as yet unknown.

The Kansas City Star reports that the woman informed police of two other possible victims, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Excelsior Springs police declined to comment as Haslett faces charges of first-degree rape, first-degree and second-degree assault. Haslett, a contractor for construction company M&H Contractors, pleaded not guilty to the charges in Clark County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

He is being held at the Clay County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. Neighbors described to KSHB News the harrowing moments shortly after the victim’s escape. Lisa Johnson described first seeing the emaciated woman struggling to crawl up her porch steps on Friday.

"She didn't have much of a voice," she told KSHB News. "It was more of a light 'help me' than anything."

Johnson describes how when she hurried to call the police, the victim became frightened and said "he'd kill [them] both." She then fled to a different neighbor's home to get help.

That neighbor was Ciara Tharp’s grandmother, who immediately answered her door upon hearing screaming outside.

"She heard a woman screaming and came knocking on the door, so she opened the door and the lady said, 'You have to help me, I've been raped, I've been held captive,'" Tharp told KSHB News. "She's like, 'You gotta help me.'"

"My grandma could tell she was weak," Tharp said. "She didn't have a whole lot of clothes on. She said she had a metal dog collar around her neck and could see the ligature marks around her wrists."

Tharp said her grandmother let the young woman in, wrapped her in a blanket and gave her some food and water.

Tharp told how the the young woman identified Haslett as the one who sexually assaulted her and held her in the small basement room, and how she saw a window of opportunity that Friday morning.

"She said once he left, she flung that door open, let his dog out and she took off," Tharp told KSHB News.

According to The Daily Mail, Haslett has a criminal record dating back to 2002 when he was accused of providing liquor to a minor. He also has several other arrests for DUI, careless driving, and driving on a suspended license, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.