Authorities in Texas have arrested and charged a rapper after he allegedly abducted a pregnant woman and held her hostage in his home for several years. According to KTRK, Lee Carter, who goes by the stage name Viper, was taken into custody on Friday.
Carter is best remembered for his viral vaporwave album. Police, in an effort to locate the woman, made their way into the 52-year-old’s home by creating an entry through a window to open a door.
“We were very concerned that there could have been somebody in there that needed immediate assistance,” Commander Michael Collins of the Houston Police Department told the news outlet.
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“The cops come banging on my door at one point, maybe almost a year ago now, claiming that someone had called from inside the house and was kidnapped or was not able to leave on her own, and right then, as the cops are standing at my door, a gal comes crawling out that window just there with the boards over it. Just clawing her way out, pregnant, eight months,” Jedediah Beights, a neighbor, also said.
Carter, whose bond has since been set at $100,000, is said to have abducted the woman in South Houston before taking her to his residence. The woman was said to be panhandling at the time.
The victim informed police that Carter, for about four to five years, raped and forced her to consume drugs such as pills and crack cocaine, KTRK reported. It is also unclear if she ultimately gave birth. The child’s welfare could also not be established.
Neighbors who spoke to the news outlet also said they spotted the victim once in a while. “He would back his car up to the shop, load her up, back up to the door at the front of the house so she could bathe,” said Beights.
Houston police said 911 calls linked to Carter’s home had been made over the last year. The woman also said that though police transported her to the hospital on multiple occasions, Carter always came for her and returned her to his house.
The victim ultimately used Carter’s laptop to contact the police for help. Authorities said the woman was filthy and weighed 70 pounds when she was rescued.
“It makes me sick as a human being and I can tell you as a police department, we are here for the citizens of Houston. We are here for the community and we are here to make sure that this individual and her family gets justice,” Commander Collins said.
