Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha
Santa Ana: In a shocking case of kidnapping, a man who reportedly abducted his girlfriend`s 15-year-old daughter from her home, held her captive for a decade and also fathered a child with her after marrying her, has been arrested, said the authorities.
The arrest of Garcia Isidro, 41-year-old, came after the victim woman complained to police after having contacted her sister on Facebook, said the police.
Isidro seems to have taken advantage of the fact that the woman had come to the US illegally and couldn`t speak English. So all these years, he kept on threatening her that if she tried to escape, she would be deported. Thanks to the Facebook, that the woman contacted her sister on the social networking site, after which she dared to complain to the police.
Describing her 10-year ordeal as a nightmare, the victim said that she was happy to be reunited with her family as Garcia had brainwashed her saying that her family did not want her back, reported the ABC news.
Speaking exclusively to ABC`s Eyewitness News, the victim said,
"I was 15. I couldn`t do anything".
She added that she was beaten every time, she wanted to escape and failed to do so.
"I`m so happy and God-blessed to be with my family. That`s what I want all the time. All the time, I cry for them, more for my mom and my sisters," said the victim, who doesn`t want to reveal her identity.
Isidro was arrested on charges of kidnapping, rape, lewd acts with a minor and false imprisonment, stated the police department which investigated the case.
According to the police, the victim had to tolerate a decade of physical, mental and sexual abuse starting 2004 – during which the captor also married her and fathered a child, who is now two years old.
"Even with the opportunity to escape, after years of physical and mental abuse, the victim saw no way out of her situation," police said in a written statement.
The victim, now 25-year old, was given various fake identities and hence police couldn`t spot her, while Garcia continued to abuse her.
The statements by the Santa Ana Police Department portray a heinous crime committed by the man, who was dating the victim`s mother and was living with her family, when he drugged his girlfriend`s daughter and kidnapped her.
According to the police, the incident occurred in 2004 when the victim – then 15-year old, arrived at Santa Ana from Mexico in February 2004 to live with her sister, whom Garcia was dating.
But after an altercation with his girlfriend (the victim`s mother) in August 2004, Garcia followed her daughter and abducted her from a park after having drugged her.
The victim was then locked in a garage in Compton, a city between Santa Ana and Los Angeles.
Even though, the victim`s mother diligently tried to look for her daughter, but the girl wasn`t found as Garcia changed her name and locations multiple number of times and threatened her that she would be deported if she tried to flee.
According to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, The mother "filed a police report and for 10 years (police) did due diligence. But they were changing their names and dates of birth and physical locations so that made it exceedingly difficult”.
"You`re talking about a 15-year-old girl that`s in a new country," he said. "She`s got nowhere to go."
However, the victim`s neighbours were startled to learn about the kidnapping and found it hard to believe.
One of the neignbours told a news agency that the victim "lived like a queen" and that the couple loved their child and hosted grand parties as well.
Another neighbor also said that Garcia was a hard working man and worked at two places.
Speaking to the ABC news, the victim sought to clarify about the neighbours` good perception about the kidnapper, saying "he worked hard for me and my daughter and he bought everything I want, but I need love of my family, not things".
The victim`s mother said that reunion with her daughter was a dream come true as she had never given up hope.
"I`m happy. God is everything," the mother said.
According to the victim`s family, the culprit must be punished as he `brainwashed` a young girl into believing that her family didn`t want her back.
