Kidnap victim saved after 10 years, with the help of Facebook

After she was allegedly kidnapped, assaulted physically, mentally and sexually for 10 years, a kidnap victim finally mustered the courage to contact the police to help save her.

This was after reaching out to her sister on Facebook.

In a press release to the media, the Santa Ana police department in California announced that they have arrested 41-year-old Isidro Garcia for rape and kidnap charges, lewd acts with a minor and false imprisonment.

He is suspected to have kidnapped and imprisoned the 25-year-old female victim in 2004 when she was just 15. She is not being named by the police.

According to local news outlet, KTLA5, in August 2005, the victim's mother reported to the police that her daughter was missing along with her daughter's boyfriend live-in boyfriend, Garcia, "after a domestic violence incident".

At that point in time, the victim's mother suspected that Garcia was sexually abusing her daughter but she did not have proof to back up her suspicions.

It is only after the police was able to save her daughter that details of what Garcia allegedly did to her, how she was kidnapped and how he was able to escape detection for 10 years able to emerge.

The ordeal

Garcia started sexually abusing the victim  in June of 2004 when they were both living in the victim's family home in 800 block of South Fairview Street in Santa Ana 

Here’s a view of the apartment complex where Garcia lived with the victim before allegedly kidnapping her, according to police. (Credit: Google Maps)

Then in August of the same year, Garcia allegedly assaulted the victim's mother, drugged the victim and brought her to another house in Compton, California, where she was held overnight.

Here, Garcia gave the victim fake identification papers.

According to the police statement,

“Over the course of the following months and years, Garcia repeatedly told the victim her family had given up looking for her, and if she tried to go back to them, the family would be deported,”

Garcia continued his frequent physical and sexual assault on the victim over the years.

He even forced her to marry him in 2007 and she bore him a child in 2012.

Garcia is currently in police custody while the Orange County District Attorney's Office considers his charges.

Souce: KTLA5, Santa Ana Police Department