Richmond, Va. - New court documents are revealing the abuse and torture of a 20-year-old woman rescued from her kidnappers at a New Kent truck stop in early January.
The woman, who is not being identified, was found January 6th after a truck driver called the New Kent Sheriff’s Office reporting that he noticed suspicious activity at an RV parked at the Pilot gas station on Route 106 near I-64.
Police found three people inside the RV -- the victim, and a couple identified as 30-year-old Laura Sorenson and 36-year-old Aldair Hodza.
The responding police officer noticed the victim was displaying signs of fright and malnourishment. She was taken outside and questioned and it was there that she begged authorities not to let her go back in the RV and said she was being held against her will by Sorenson and Hodza.
The victim also told authorities she was being sexually and physically abused, had infections all over her body, and could not remember the last time she had eaten or drank anything, according to court records.
The victim was taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center where she was interviewed further by investigators. She
described that she had been taken by Sorenson and Hodza in Des Moines, Iowa around December 19th. The couple gave her alcohol and marijuana, had sex with her, and then would not allow her to leave. The victim was reportedly told by Sorenson and Hodza that they would kill her family.
A road trip from Iowa to Virginia began around December 24th. The victim says she was forced to have sex with men for money through arranged meetings set up via Craigslist. Sorenson reportedly collected the money from the victim's forced prostitution engagements and used it for food and gas on their trip. The prostitution began in Iowa and continued throughout the course of the trip. Additional ads were posted on Craigslist via Sorenson's cell phone when they arrived in Virginia.
In addition to the prostitution, court records say the victim told authorities she was repeatedly physically and sexually abused by Sorenson and Hodza inside the RV.
She was found with numerous burns on her abdomen, groin and back. The victim said they came from a set of keys that were heated by Sorenson over the RV's stove and pressed into her body.
She was also found with puncture wounds to her feet that the victim said came from Sorenson and Hodza driving nails into her feet with a hammer.
Additionally, the victim described the sexual abuse that occurred inside the RV, which included being penetrated by objects, including a flashlight.
A search warrant was conducted on the RV which resulted in objects being found that support the victim's description of the events that occurred. Pictures were found on a cell phone showing the victim nude and gagged, and an image was found showing a man's hand spraying aerosol bleach spray into a wound on the victim's body.
Sorenson and Hodza had been charged with one count of Abduction and Intent to Defile. Additionally, they are now facing federal charges of Sex Trafficking by Force.
