A 19-year-old man is accused of kidnapping a woman in San Diego, taking her across the country and keeping her as a sex slave.
Brandon Todd is being held on a federal kidnapping charge, after he was taken into custody July 10.
His capture came after his alleged victim escaped by faking an asthma attack in May and calling police, according to an FBI affidavit.
The ordeal started in April at the Greyhound bus terminal downtown, according to the FBI. The criminal complaint said a 26-year-old woman, who was traveling from San Diego to Florida, met Todd and was coerced into sharing a hotel room with him.
In an affidavit, an FBI agent said Todd threatened to harm the woman and her family if she didn’t comply. He allegedly showed her weapons, told her he had gang connections and destroyed her phone so she couldn’t be tracked.
After two days in the hotel, Todd took the woman cross-country to Naples, N.Y., according to investigators. According to the FBI, Todd kept her against her will at his grandparents’ house, where he repeatedly raped her. The victim said she was held captive for more than two weeks.