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An Ohio man will spend decades in prison after he held a woman hostage in a “torture chamber” for weeks.
Shane Edward Hooper, 36, of Marion County, kidnapped the woman in May 2023, trapping her at his home where he raped her and repeatedly used a baseball bat and metal chain as “instruments of torture”, according to authorities.
At one point, he “escalated control” over his victim by nailing doors and windows shut so she couldn’t escape.
As well as physical torture, he subjected her to intense psychological terror and threatened to kill her and her family.
The woman was finally rescued in June 2023 when Hooper’s neighbors spotted her in distress and called the police.
Officers dispatched to the home for a welfare check found the woman with broken bones, open wounds, and eight fractured ribs, Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan said in a news release.
She was hospitalised for treatment.
Hooper ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of felony assault, and one count of strangulation.
He was sentenced on Thursday to between 50 and 55.5 years in prison.
“The brave woman told us she had been praying for rescue and God answered her prayers,” Grogan said in a statement after the sentencing.
He praised the neighbors who alerted authorities to what was going on, leading to her rescue.
“Some good citizens spoke up and their actions likely saved this woman’s life. That’s the Marion County spirit I know and love,” he said.
“Shane Hooper created a torture chamber and trapped this woman in it. Now he’ll be trapped in prison for at least the next 50 years.”
