Man arrested for kidnapping, sexually abusing woman for 15 years

She was brought to the man’s house at night but forced to stay captive in a prison-like cave during the day

An 83-year-old man who allegedly kidnapped a woman and kept her captive in a cave since she was 13, has been arrested on charges of sex abuse and child protection laws, BBC reported.

The man reported by local media named 'Jago' was known for performing black magic and alternative healing.

The girl’s family had brought the girl for treatment and she stayed behind with him, the police said. He kidnapped the girl when she was 13, and brainwashed her into believing the he was possessed by a ‘jinn.’



Later that year, she disappeared, with media reports saying that the family was told that she had left to work in Jakarta. The family tried to locate her, however, she was eventually declared missing.

However on Sunday, acting on a tip-off, police launched an operation in a village in Galumpang, located in central Sulawesi, where they found the woman, now 28, in a small space behind boulders in the cave.

Tolitoli Police Chief M Iqbal Alqudusy said that the man had been raping the woman since 2003, and would also show her a picture of what he said was a jinn that possessed him.



She was brought to the man’s house at night, but forced to stay captive in the prison like cave during the day.

"The victim seems to have been brainwashed, making her afraid to run away and afraid to meet other people because she was being watched by a jinn," a local resident named Sugeng informed the Jakarta Post.

The suspect faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

This story originally appeared in BBC