Five family members were arrested on a charge of human trafficking after
allegedly keeping an autistic woman locked up in an outdoor cage and
planned to use her as a prostitute, police in Louisiana said.
The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office said that they have arrested
Raylaine Knope, 40, Bridget Lambert, 19, Taylor Knope, 18, Jody Lambert,
21, and Terry Knope, 43, after being accused of keeping the 22-year-old
woman in the backyard of their home.
They were all charged with human trafficking and cruelty to the infirm.
According to the police, officers received a call from a concerned
citizen, reporting that people in a house on Rushing Lane,were holding a
22-year-old woman locked in a cage on the property.
Police officers who arrived at the scene, found the woman, who suffers
from autism, living in a makeshift shelter, which consisted of a blue
tarp over a cage similar to a dog kennel.
The woman was locked in the cage at night, in order to prevent her from
leaving the property. She appeared to be malnourished, and suffered from
numerous insect bites.
Inside the cage was a 5-gallon bucket in which she was forced to defecate in.
The family members conspired to transport the woman to a specific place
with the intention of prostituting her to multiple men for money.
The 22-year-old woman was taken to a hospital, where she was assessed.
The woman was placed in the care and custody of the Department of Adult
Protective Services.