Woman Held as Brooklyn Sex Slave

Think twice before you move in with a stranger on Craigslist: A 27-year-old woman from Wisconsin reportedly moved to share an apartment in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn that was advertised on Craigslist, and wound up being held captive as a sex slave. The perpetrator, 45-year-old John Hopkins, has been arrested and faces charges of rape, assault, and unlawful imprisonment with a bail set at $350,000. The Brooklyn district attorney said Hopkins offered the woman free home and board if she cooked and cleaned for him. He allegedly paid for her plane ticket to New York and picked her up at the airport, but when she arrived at his home on February 4, he forced her to call him "master." The victim told police she was handcuffed to a radiator, beaten, bound, gagged, and raped repeatedly. She reported that she was allowed to leave the apartment at least once, but was immediately handcuffed when she returned. She eventually called her mother in Wisconsin who then called the NYPD, who reportedly found the victim in the fetal position on a bed with a whip and ball-gag nearby.