Authorities freed a woman who was allegedly kidnapped by her 19-year-old boyfriend on Christmas Day and held against her will for more than a week in Palmdale.
On Dec. 25, the mother of a 19-year-old woman witnessed her daughter's boyfriend assault the victim and take her against her will, according to statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The woman’s mother did not call police because she feared what the boyfriend, who is also the father of the victim's child, would do to her and her daughter, officials said.
Deputies weren’t made aware of the incident until the kidnapped woman’s father reported her missing to authorities on Saturday.
An immediate investigation was launched and deputies were eventually led to an apartment in the 1100 block of East Avenue Q-4, authorities said.
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While at the location, authorities said they found the woman “hidden inside the apartment” and that she appeared to be “extremely fearful.”
The woman’s boyfriend, Giovanni McKinnis was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, kidnapping, domestic violence, a restraining order violation and false imprisonment, officials said. He is being held on $100,000 bail.