A 16-year-old Chinese schoolgirl has been rescued after being chained up by her neck in a dark home-made dungeon for nearly a month by a middle-aged man, who repeatedly raped her, according to authority.
The suspect, known by his surname Long, used a five-metre-long (16-foot-long) iron chain as well as five extra padlocks to bind the girl to the wall of the damp basement.
The dungeon, equipped with just a wooden board on the floor and a plastic toilet, is built directly underneath Long’s room through a trapdoor, according to the Fenghuang People’s Procuratorate in Fenghuang County, southern China’s Hunan Province.
A picture released by the Fenghuang People’s Procuratorate shows the status of the victim when she was found by police earlier this month in China. She had been chained up for 24 days
The girl was locked up in a home-made dungeon dug by the suspect under his room. It was built three years ago by the man and is linked to his room through a trapdoor (pictured)
Long, in his 50s, has stayed single for a long time and makes a living by providing rideshare service with his van, the Fenghuang People’s Procuratorate said in a statement.
The authority said he dug the dungeon about three years ago when he built the house and had bought iron rings, iron chains, leather masks and female wigs to carry out kidnapping.
Police have arrested the suspect and freed the unnamed victim 24 days after she was abducted, locked up and repeatedly sexually assaulted by Long.
The suspect, known by his surname Long, used a five-metre-long (16-foot-long) iron chain as well as five extra padlocks to lock up the girl in the dark, damp basement in Fenghuang
Police have arrested the suspect and freed the unnamed victim from the dungeon 24 days after she was abducted, locked up and repeatedly sexually assaulted by Long
The Fenghuang People’s Procuratorate, who also released grim images of the case yesterday, described Long as having ‘twisted motives’, ‘despicable methods’, and ‘long-harboured thoughts about kidnapping women’.
According to the statement, Long picked up the victim posed as a taxi driver as she was hailing for a taxi by the side of the road on February 13.
During the ride, Long asked to use the girl’s phone, arousing her suspicion and causing her to attempt an escape by jumping from his van.
However, Long captured and beat the girl, binding her hands with shoelaces, taping her mouth shut, putting a nylon sack over her head and driving her back to his home where she was imprisoned in his basement, the statement said.
The girl’s family went to the police for help after she had gone missing and officers found her three weeks after.
According to the authority, Long picked up the victim posed as a taxi driver as she was hailing for a taxi by the side of the road on February 13. He captured and beat the girl afterwards
It is said that the suspect bound the victim’s hands with shoelaces, taped her mouth shut, put a nylon sack over her head and drove her back to his home before putting her into the basement
The young victim was discovered in the damp and dark basement with a chain wrapped around her neck – which had been secured by five padlocks.
The prosecutor’s office said the schoolgirl had been repeatedly raped in the basement.
The findings claimed Long, a long-time bachelor, had been ‘perverted by pornography’ and premeditated his crime by purchasing online items such as the metal loops, chains, stun truncheon, masks and women’s wigs.
The prosecutor’s office said they were waiting for their evidence to be reviewed before formally charging Long.
The police did not reveal how the victim was found, only that ‘she is recovering well physically and psychologically’ after having been assigned two counsellors.