Rosalynn McGinnis (left) with Henri Piette -when he threw her a quinceañera for her 13th birthday
Police arrested a man in Mexico after he was found guilty of raping his underage stepdaughter, marrying her, and keeping her captive for nearly two decades.
Officials arrested 62-year-old Henri Michele Piette Thursday after he was charged with first-degree rape and other offenses last month for the disturbing crimes, NewsOK reported.
The rape was first said to take place at the victim Rosalynn McGinnis’ residence in Wagoner, Oklahoma – where she lived at the time with her mother and the stepfather.
McGinnis, who is now 33, told People Piette kidnapped her from school at the early age of 12 years old after her mother left him following the sexual abuse.
McGinnis told investigators Piette ‘married’ her in a van already at 11 and even gave her a ring, court affidavits said, according to the local newspaper.
He kidnapped McGinnis under her will and took her to Mexico with him where she would be held under captivity for 19 years.
McGinnis told her story in an interview with People this week, after she escaped captivity in Mexico in June 2016
McGinnis, now 33, told People Piette kidnapped her from school at the early age of 12 years old after her mother left him following the sexual abuse
McGinnis told investigators Piette ‘married’ her in a van already at 11 and even gave her a ring
The victim, who fled in June 2016, has come forward to share her story after she successfully escaped with eight of her children – while the ninth previously escaped and is now reunited with the family.
While the bizarre story does not clarify whether or not the victim’s children were Piette’s, an FBI agent said in the court affidavit McGinnis was introduced to Piette’s ‘other children as their new mother.’
He added that they ‘began traveling to numerous locations throughout the United States and abroad including … Texas, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico.’
While being held captive in Mexico, McGinnis revealed she was ‘raped, beaten and tortured’ while living in a remote village.
McGinnis was just 12 years old at the time she was kidnapped and held captive
‘McGinnis stated that she was sexually assaulted multiple times a day almost every day while she was with Piette,’ court affidavits said.
It wasn’t until she had been recovering from gallbladder removal surgery last year she decided she needed to escape once and for all.
Piette reportedly ordered her to complete strenuous housework as she was supposed to be recovering.
That’s when McGinnis knew she needed to make a change to better her life.
‘I knew that if I didn’t get out of there, I’d either go insane or I would end up dying and leaving my kids with that man,’ she told People in this week’s issue.
‘She grabbed what few funds she had earned and, that June, paid for a taxi to take her and her children to Oaxaca City, Mexico, where she made a call that would change her life.’
At that time, she was able to get in contact with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
She since fled the country with her children to the U.S. Embassy.
FBI officials confirmed Piette ‘has resided in Mexico and Central America for a very long time and has deep ties to criminal organizations in Mexico,’ according to NewsOK.
Jack Thorp, the Wagoner County District Attorney said in a statement Friday that the ‘excellent work’ of the FBI ‘has aided in the capture and extradition of the fugitive Henri Piette.’
The complicated investigation is expected to play out for the next several months.