Woman escapes home where she was kept in crate, sexually abused, NJ officials say

An 18-year-old escaped from the home where she was sexually abused and forced to sleep in a room with nothing but a bucket, New Jersey officials said.

On May 10, the woman reported that she’d been held captive by her mom and her stepdad, officials told ABC News.

The woman told officers that she’d been held captive for several years before escaping on May 8, according to a news release by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

McClatchy News is not naming the couple to protect the identity of the victim.

During the investigation, officers learned the girl had been abused since 2018 and was pulled out of school in sixth grade, officials said.

She was “forced to live in a dog crate for approximately one year” and later lived in a “padlocked bathroom while being chained up” but allowed to come out when family was over, prosecutors said.

Otherwise, she was forced to live in a room with nothing but a bucket to be used as a toilet, officials said.

The room had an alarm system that alerted the couple if she tried to escape, officials said.

The woman was sexually abused by the man and he’d beat her with a belt, prosecutors said.

The woman was able to get help from a neighbor who she recounted the abuse to and the police were called, officials said.

During a search of the home, officials found the home in “squalid” conditions with numerous animals and a 13-year-old who was removed from school, officials said.

The couple was arrested and charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child – abuse/neglect, criminal restraint, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, the release said.

The man was also charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child – sexual assault, officials said. He worked for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority as a train conductor and the woman was unemployed, officials said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 856-365-3073.

Camden is about a 30-mile drive southwest from Trenton.

This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 9:04 AM with the headline "Woman escapes home where she was kept in crate, sexually abused, NJ officials say."