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AMITE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana sheriff says two men and three women are accused of keeping an autistic woman outdoors with only a kennel-like crate as her shelter and planning to use her as a prostitute.
Tangiaphoa (TAN-jih-puh-HO-uh) Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said in a statement Thursday that investigators searched the house last week after a report of a woman in a cage. He says authorities found the woman in the back yard near the crate draped with a blue tarp.
Investigators say the woman appeared malnourished and often was locked in the crate at night to keep her from wandering away.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Dawn Panepinto (PAN-uh-PIN-toh) says investigators later learned the five planned to prostitute the woman. She says they were arrested on charges of human trafficking and cruelty to the infirm.
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