The Stranger Lying Next to Her: I Love You, but I'll Kill You

Boston kidnapping victim was raped, forced to drink alcohol: prosecutors
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 21, 2019 6:37 AM CDT
The Stranger Lying Next to Her: I Love You, but I'll Kill You
Victor Pena   (Rhode Island State Police)

A young woman kidnapped in Boston in January was repeatedly sexually assaulted and forced to drink alcohol, pose for selfies, and read from a Spanish-language Bible over three days before she was traced with help from the Find My Phone app, prosecutors say. Victor Pena—allegedly seen hugging, kissing, and holding up the woman on surveillance video from Jan. 19—came upon the drunk 23-year-old after she'd left a bar, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. Prosecutors say the 38-year-old took the woman to his Charlestown apartment and raped her while she was incapacitated, per ABC News. When she awoke the next day on a bare mattress and tried to leave, Pena physically stopped her and repeatedly threatened to kill her, prosecutors say. He allegedly said they would start a family, and that he loved her.

Over the next three days, she consumed only canned pineapple, whiskey, and vodka, per ABC and the New York Post. She also had to pose for photos. "[Pena] put sunglasses on as if they were at the beach together, told her to pose and kiss him and smile," District Attorney Ian Polumbaum tells NBC Boston. Meanwhile, the woman's twin traced her phone, held by Pena, to his street, prosecutors say, adding police identified him by searching public transit cards associated with the area. As the woman was rescued, Pena allegedly said she reminded him of a daughter he hadn't seen in a decade. His lawyer says Pena, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday to kidnapping and 10 counts of aggravated rape, has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old. Per the Post, "he bawled like a baby and sucked his thumb" at his Jan. 23 court appearance. He's due back in court on April 10. (More kidnapping stories.)

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