Police investigating a homeowner for fraud and identity theft, discovered something even more disturbing than they could imagine.
A 25-year-old woman chained to a stripper’s pole, with a padlock around her neck was found in the two-story home. She revealed to police that she had been chained there for weeks, as a punishment for the one time she attempted to escape. The young woman also told police she was only 1 of the 4 slaves that lived in the “brothel” like home owned by Ryon L. Travis, 32. She says she had been in the home for a year and a half.
The four women lived in the home as sex slaves who were marketed online for profit. She explained to authorities, according to The Washington Post, that she had known Travis since she was 19, and that over the past year and a half, he forced her and the other woman into sex work.
Travis referred to the women as his ‘wives’, although he treated them more like prisoners. He had been stealing the 25-year old woman’s $700 Social Security disability check each month. According to audio provided to The Washington Post, Travis posted advertisements online that he had four girls for sale. He was also violent with the women if they refused to participate in sex acts.
Authorities also seized two cell phones from the home that contained graphic images of a grown man sexually abusing children. According to the criminal complaint, one of the images showed a child laying on a ‘distinctive blue and white pattern,’ fulfilling a search warrant, police found the same sheet on a bed in one of Travis’ bedrooms.
As a result, Travis is facing multiple charges, including sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and producing, possessing and transporting child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty, and even asked a judge to dismiss the case.
Sources say, one of the “wives” said he considers himself a “sovereign citizen.” Which means he believes he shouldn’t be forced to pay taxes and he gets to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore.
“All laws are commercial in nature and I’m a natural born human American man. So since all laws are commercial in nature and I choose not to do business with this court, I ask that this case be dismissed,” Travis said at the detention hearing last month.
The Magistrate Judge Mona Majzoub denied his request and ordered him detained until trial.
Source: Washington Post
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