CHICAGO : A mentally disabled woman and her daughter were forced to live in an Ohio basement with snakes and pitbulls and were treated like slaves for more than two years, US prosecutors said Tuesday.
The case came to light after the woman was caught stealing a candy bar and told police she'd rather go to jail than go home because her roommates "were mean to her." Three of her tormentors were arrested on human trafficking charges after a lengthy investigation.
"We are yet again reminded that modern-day slavery exists all around us," said Steven Dettelbach, US Attorney for the northern district of Ohio. The charges come a month after three young women who had been held captive for a decade were discovered in a house in Cleveland, about 110km north of town where the disabled woman was allegedly enslaved.