Pennsylvania Family Charged with Treating Captive Woman as Their 'Slave'

macslut

Well-known member
Another fucked up family alert! This is really sad but unfortunatly happens alot. I am so glad she got out.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,260229,00.htm
service_ap_36.gif


GREENSBURG, Pa. — A couple and their three teenage children held a woman captive for six months, referring to her as their "slave" as they beat her, forced her to do chores and threatened her life and the lives of her relatives, police said Wednesday.
All five members of the family, ranging in age from 43 to 16, were arrested on charges of kidnapping and making terroristic threats. They had not yet entered pleas Wednesday but denied wrongdoing.
The accuser, Emily Nicely, 19, said she went to live with the family voluntarily but alleges that she had been forced to stay with them since September, authorities said.
Police were called March 10 after a man whose newspaper was delivered by the family reported seeing bruises on the young woman.
"She had injuries on every part of her body," said police Capt. George Seranko. A hospital examination also revealed that she had a concussion.
Nicely said her own family had moved out of Greensburg, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, and that she moved in with Mark and Cynthia Pollard and their children last summer so she could finish high school in the same district.

School district officials said, however, that she was last enrolled in the 2004-05 school year.
Mark Pollard, 43, Cynthia Pollard, 41, and their oldest son, Mark Jr., 18, remained in jail Wednesday, the day after their arrest. The couple's youngest children — Jonathan, 17, and Tabitha, 16 — were charged as adults but were released on bail and allowed to stay with relatives.
Cynthia Pollard told investigators that Nicely was bruised because she fell while delivering newspapers. She also said the family had "numerous physical confrontations with Nicely but that it was always in self-defense," according to a police affidavit.
"She's a liar," Cynthia Pollard told reporters after her arraignment Tuesday.
Nicely told police that shortly after she moved in with the Pollards they became physically abusive, forced her to work and never let her leave the house alone.
On numerous occasions, the Pollards punched the victim, kicked her and struck her with objects such as broom handles, a metal pipe, belts and boards, police said in an affidavit. "The Pollard family referred to her as their 'slave."'
"They told her that if she told anyone or tried to leave, they would put wire around her neck and strangle her. They would then go after her family," police said.
Nicely said she was also punished by having to stand with weights, with her hands on her head or in a corner for hours, police said. Cynthia Pollard acknowledged that Nicely was forced to stand in a corner.
Newspaper customer Nelson Williams, 66, and his caretaker called police after seeing Nicely's bruises on March 10.
"Her face, it looked like a baseball bat hit her," Williams told The Associated Press. "She was bad. Boy, she was bruised."
Williams said Cynthia Pollard told him Nicely had mental health problems and injured herself.
Nicely is now living with her mother in another county, authorities said. The Associated Press could not immediately locate Nicely for comment.
 

Beauty Mark

Well-known member
That's messed up, particularly having the kids participate.

I wonder why she was living there in the first place and her initial relationship to the family
 

Ms. Z

Well-known member
This is outrageous! This poor young woman; I am so glad the neighbor had the sense to call authorities. I hope this horrible family all go to jail, including the kids (because they too are old enough to know this is wrong & did not take any action to stop it).

The excuses the family gave for the bruising on this woman are total nonsense. If she was hurting herself, they would have called for someone to help her because this is not normal behavior for someone of any age and they risk getting blamed if they did not report it.
 

miss holly j

Active member
Who would think that this would happen in PA? I live close to PA and i'd never expect it. UGH there are such sick people in the world.
 

goldenchild

Active member
I don't even know what to say about this story! It's a sad fact that things like this happen everyday behind closed doors. I'm so glad that her neighbor called the police about seeing her bruises. She was emotionally and physically abused by the people who she thought she could trust and she has a long recovery to get over what happened. I can't imagine any human being doing something so cruel to someone so young. It's sad!
 

~Valerie~

Well-known member
You think that's bad? Ever hear about Sylvia Likens?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Likens

Yeah, this kind of stuff happens all the time. It's probably happening right now as we discuss it. It's sad and I hope it teaches people that it's OK to step up and call the authorities when you see something that just isn't right.
 

lvgz

Well-known member
wow valerie, i just read that article. thats horrible. its disgusting that people would treat other human beings like that.
 

Latest posts

Top