An Indonesian woman who was held captive for 15 years in a cave by a man claiming to be a shaman in Indonesia has been rescued. The 83-year-old man regularly raped her over 15 years, police say. The woman, now aged 28 and identified only as "H", was found on Sunday in a crevice behind the large rocks near Bajugan village in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province.
When the girl was 13 years old, the family had brought her to the man for treatment. The shaman was known for alternative medicines and "magical" healing skills. Later, after the girl disappeared, the man told the family that she had left to go "far away" for work. He had, infact, kidnapped the girl and kept her as his sex slave for 15 years. He used to show the girl a picture of a man named Amrin. The man claimed that Amrin was a jin or genie, and that the jin enters his body. He would then have sexual intercourse with the girl, promising to marry her to the jin.
The woman said that the man had been having sex with her since 2003, but the man has admitted to sexual relations only since 2008. He has been charged with offences under child protection laws, which carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
According to Jakarta Post, the woman's sister is married to the shaman's son. Police say that the sister knew about her sister's ordeal but kept quite. One of the neighbours overheard the couple while fighting when she threatened to report the kidnapping to the police. This led to the discovery of the girl.
Police also said that there might be other victims in the village who were keeping quite as the shaman was a well respected man in the area.