OVILLA (WBAP/KLIF News) – An Ovilla couple is facing kidnapping charges after a woman accused them of chaining her to a bed and forcing her to work for them as a slave.
Ovilla Police Chief Brian Windham said officers were tipped off after the victim managed to get a hold of a tablet and reach out to a friend for help.
When they arrived at the home in the 900 block of Red Oak Creek Road on January 26th, investigators said 51-year-old Jean-Claude Demars and 48-year-old Charlotte Demars led to the a bedroom where the victim was chained to a bed in a filthy room.
He said the victim told investigators she knew her alleged kidnapper. According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by WFAA, the victim had been in and on-again-off-again affair with Mr. Demars.
It said he had been paying for the victim to stay at hotel but had eventually stopped, forcing her to move into a women’s shelter in Irving.
The victim said Mr. Demars picked up at a gas station on January 14th and gave her a spiked drink.
According to the affidavit, Demars admitted to picking her up but claimed that he took her home because she passed out inside his car after they got drinks at the gas station.
She told police she woke up to a nightmare situation in a strange house.
“She was shackled, handcuffed, chained and was forced to do manual labor around the home and then would be returned to her bed and chained up again,” said Windham.
She told investigators that she was forced to use a bucket as the restroom.
Windham said the victim was lucky that she was able to alert a friend. He’s urging the public to educate themselves on what to look out for if someone is being held against their will.
“People that aren’t able to make decisions for themselves and have to turn to others to make decisions for them. People who when asked for identification don’t have any. They don’t have any belongings. They’re having to use other people to basically take care of them,” he said.
The Demars are being held int he Ellis County Jail on $150,000 bond each. Windham said investigators are also looking into human trafficking charges.
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