Missouri man accused of holding woman in basement for weeks could face 5 life sentences

A Missouri man accused of holding a woman captive in his basement until she escaped last year has been indicted on rape and other counts that carry life in prison, the Clay County prosecutor said Tuesday.

Timothy Haslett Jr., 40, was indicted on nine charges, including rape, sodomy and kidnapping, Prosecuting Attorney Zach Thompson said.

If convicted, Haslett, who is being held in lieu of $3 million bond, could face more than five life sentences in prison, Thompson said.

“We would not be here today if not for the bravery of one woman and the tireless efforts of the men and women of 16 different agencies,” Thompson said, according to video streamed by local media.

Haslett was arrested in October after a woman escaped from his home in Excelsior Springs wearing a metal collar with a padlock on it and went to neighbors for help, police said in court documents.

A neighbor has said that she was getting ready for work on Oct. 7 when she heard the victim asking for help and that she called police.

Haslett’s public defender said he will plead not guilty at his court appearance Friday.

The victim told police that Haslett picked her up on a Kansas City, Missouri, street at the beginning of September and that she had been held in a small room in the basement, restrained by wrist and ankle handcuffs, police said in a probable cause statement previously filed in court.

The woman also said she had been repeatedly raped and whipped but managed to escape when Haslett left to take his child to school, a detective said in the document.

The grand jury indictment announced Tuesday cites one count of first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault and one count of endangering a child.

It is an open investigation, Thompson, the prosecutor, said Tuesday. He encouraged anyone with any information to contact Excelsior Springs police.

Excelsior Springs is a city of around 10,500 people about 25 miles northeast of downtown Kansas City, Missouri.