Florida couple sexually assaulted, drugged and burnt woman during 48-hour torture before she managed to escape
BRONSON, FLORIDA: A Florida couple has been arrested after they reportedly held a woman captive, beat her, burned her, drugged her and repeatedly sexually assaulted her until she somehow managed to escape. The couple – Alexis Crawford, 20, and Christian White, 30, were arrested on Monday, August 31. The couple was booked into the Levy County Jail on charges which include false imprisonment, sexual battery, and aggravated battery, Daily Mail reports.
As per a statement from the Levy County Sheriff's Office, the case had started on Sunday when the agency had received a strange 911 call about a 39-year-old woman who was being held against her will at a home located on NE 76th Street close to Bronson.
The Sheriff's Office had revealed, "LCSO Detectives responded to the scene and the victim told them a horrific story." The victim shared that she had met the couple via a mutual friend that they were staying with on Saturday, August 29. The same evening, the victim had offered to pick up dinner for the group but upon returning to the house, things took a nightmarish turn.
The victim revealed that she had got into a fight with Crawford who allegedly grabbed her and attempted to restrain her using zip ties. Over 48 hours, Crawford and White punched, cut, drugged, burnt and repeatedly sexually assaulted the woman before she managed to escape on Sunday.
Detectives who arrived at the scene observed that the cut marks and burns were consistent with the victim's story. The woman was taken to a hospital where she was treated for her injuries. Crawford and White were tracked down and arrested. They are currently being held on a bond of $3.25 million each. Online records reveal that White has a vast criminal history in Clay County which includes charges of domestic battery, domestic battery by strangulation, burglary, as well as vehicular expenses.
According to WCJB, the victim says that she was allowed to call her son several times to prevent him from becoming suspicious about why she had not come home. She tried her best to use a code word to let him know that she was in danger but he was unable to pick up on the signal.
The victim only managed to escape once White and Crawford had fallen asleep. She then got out of the shed and was able to get some help. According to a report, at least one person in the home had witnessed some of the violent acts that were committed against the victim but no one reported the situation as Crawford and White had made threats.
The couple also claimed to have been connected to a motorcycle gang called the 'Outlaws' and were believed to have had at least one handgun with them. Levy County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, Lt. Scott Tummond said, "In my 27 years of law enforcement, the description my detectives gave me as coming from our victim, this was one of the most horrific crimes that I’ve heard of."
"The horrific crime and the details the victim gave our detectives just makes me cringe," he added.