Houston rapper Lee Arthur Carter has been accused of kidnapping a homeless woman and holding her captive in his garage in filthy conditions for at least four years.
Carter has been charged with aggravated kidnapping after he allegedly kept the woman locked in his garage, officials said, according to a report by NBC News.
The woman was found in April after she managed to get access to Carter’s computer, which she used to call rescuers. She was reportedly pregnant and weighed just 70 pounds when she was discovered.
It remains unclear why it took authorities nearly nine months to arrest the 52-year-old rapper.
Carter, who was arrested on Thursday and taken to the Harris County jail on a charge of felony aggravated kidnapping, posted $100,000 bail and secured his freedom by Sunday.
A Harris County District Attorney’s Office affidavit reportedly states that the woman used Carter’s laptop to “communicate with 9-1-1 dispatch that she was being held against her will.”
On April 7, Houston Fire Department personnel arrived at Carter’s home on Perry Street and pried open the garage door, finding the woman locked inside and living in putrid conditions, prosecutors said.
The affidavit states that the garage included “a makeshift toilet that did not flush,” a mattress “covered in fresh vomit,” and a few packages of chips and Twinkies. It also “appeared to be a single car garage but no longer had the garage door to allow a vehicle to enter,” and both of its windows had been boarded up.
Prosecutors say the woman was found malnourished “with a pungent stench,” “crusty” hair, and wearing a T-shirt and shorts that “were filthy dirty.” The woman told police that she was panhandling “approximately four or five years ago,” when Carter picked her up, saying “he would help her.”
The woman, whose age has not been revealed, was also pregnant when Carter picked her up, according to the complaint. A district attorney spokesperson declined to say whether the woman had the baby, citing privacy laws and the ongoing investigation.
Defense attorney George Powell, meanwhile, says that the woman is actually Carter’s domestic partner.
“It’s a romantic relationship,” Powell told NBC News. “The complaining witness and him have been together for years and they have a child together.”
After being asked about the filthy conditions of the victim’s living space, Powell said he had only recently been brought onto the case and has yet to see the area where prosecutors say the woman was held.
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