A fraud investigation in Detroit led federal authorities to a far more serious case. According to The Washington Post, police were looking into a homeowner named Ryon, 32, for fraud and identity theft when they found a 25 year old woman chained by the neck with a padlock to a pole inside the two story home.
The woman told investigators she had been chained there for weeks as punishment after trying to escape once. According to the criminal complaint, she said she was one of four women living in the house and had been there for about a year and a half. She told authorities that she had known Ryon since she was 19 and that he forced her and the others into commercial sex work, advertising them online. She also said he took her monthly disability check.
Authorities also said two cell phones seized from the home contained images of child sexual abuse. Ryon is facing multiple federal charges, including sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and producing, possessing and transporting child pornography.
Ryon pleaded not guilty. According to the Washington Post, one of the women said he described himself as a sovereign citizen, a belief that a person does not have to follow certain laws. At a detention hearing, he asked the judge to dismiss the case, saying he chose not to do business with the court. Magistrate Judge Mona Majzoub denied the request and ordered him held until trial.
The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.
Source: The Washington Post
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