18-year-old woman enslaved for 13 years freed in Bolivia
Irish Sun (IANS) Wednesday 5th August, 2009
An 18-year-old woman who was kept confined and forced to work for nearly 13 years has been rescued by the police in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba, the La Razon newspaper has reported.
The victim was recruited by a labour agency in the Amazonian province of Beni when she was just six and had been forced to work without compensation since, police told the newspaper Tuesday.
'We know that this woman does not understand about money and lived as a slave,' Monica Tellez, who is in charge of legal services for the law enforcement agency, told La Razon.
Police found the teenager at the business where she had lived for nearly 13 years, Tellez said, adding that the victim 'had only a roof over her head and a mattress'.
The victim 'lived with dogs', the law enforcement official said.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that the young woman was sexually abused.
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