Florida twins who escaped from 'doomsday prepper' couple recount horrific sexual abuse: 'We were forced to have sex or starve'
CRAWFORDVILLE, FLORIDA: Two women, allegedly enslaved by a "doomsday prepper" Florida couple who adopted them and subjected them to horrific physical and sexual abuse, have come out to share their horrifying experience.
We had previously reported that 58-year-old Mirko Ceska and his 55-year-old wife Regina Ceska had been arrested after the 22-year-old twins they adopted a decade ago escaped from their three-acre homestead on 251 Lonnie Raker Lane in Crawfordville and reported the abuse to the authorities.
Now, the two women have described the years of physical and sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Mirko and detailed the horrors that had been inflicted upon them to the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office.
They told deputies they had planned escapes before but had relented on each occasion after getting cold feet. But on June 30, they finally put a plan into action.
Describing their escape, they said, "It was 12:06 am. Our parents were asleep and the AC was on. The dog was asleep too so we thought that was perfect timing. God has the perfect timing for us, so we snuck down the stairs but they were squeaky. We made it downstairs and made it out of there. We're free and it feels good."
They told detectives they had been trained to raise pigs and sheep, sheer sheep, utilize a loom and sew, and grow various fruits and vegetables, and also utilized for farm labor.
They said they were not allowed to go anywhere, couldn't have friends, couldn't have cell phones, or even agree, talk or shake hands with people in public places. They said they were always instructed to look happy and that they would get punished if they didn't smile.
They described a variety of punishments, including verbal abuse, withholding food, and beatings — detectives noted marks and bruises on one of the victims' back that indicated she had been beaten with a metal rod.
Both also described episodes where Mirko would force sex acts upon them, sometimes with the support of his wife. If they declined, they were starved.
The victims revealed that the Ceskas are "doomsday preppers" who had getaway properties located throughout the country, and also food rations and weapons stored in the event of a major calamity.
On July 12, Sheriff Jared F. Miller, CID detectives, members of the North Star Multijurisdictional Drug Task Force, and Special Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement executed a search warrant at the Ceskas' residence. Domestic Violence Injunctions were also served.
During the search, officers uncovered large quantities of food rations and survivalist items, confirming the twins' assertion that the Ceskas were "doomsday preppers".
Detectives also seized dozens of high-quality firearms, some of which were hidden behind false walls or a staircase, and many cases of ammunition that were stashed around the house.
A video that they found depicted an event where Mirko had his face up close to one of the victims and screaming at them for allegedly stealing food and a search warrant executed on his phone uncovered a file containing an internet search history for an incestuous video.
Mirko has been charged with sexual battery, sexual assault, abuse, and neglect, while Regina has been charged with two counts of failing to report abuse and neglect. Both have been released from the Wakulla County Jail pending trial.
Neither has a prior criminal record and the lawyers for the Ceskas insisted that they were a loving couple who were "trying their best to guide two unruly girls with a penchant for lying and behavioral problems that stemmed from their abusive early upbringing".
They said the twins were "pathological liars who were fabricating evidence" and the ongoing evidence would prove it. "These people are getting railroaded," said Don Pomphrey, an attorney for Mirko. "Without a doubt they are innocent. These are patently false accusations being made by the girls."
However, those claims seem to be far-fetched as detectives said the twins had the mental age of "11 or 12-year-olds" and that one struggled with "reasonable awareness of social boundaries or safety" and described a worker at a local grocery store as her "boyfriend" even though they never went out on a date. Both also still believed in Santa Claus.