The jury recognized the 63-year-old Henry Michelle Piette guilty of kidnapping and raping his stepdaughter Rosalyn Michelle McGinnis.
Piett, boyfriend, mother Rosalyn, first raped the girl when she was only 11 years old. Then the man told her that it would be their secret.
Wedding Henry Piette and Rosalyn McGinnis
2 years later, in 1997, Piett went so far as to have organized a mock wedding with Rosalyn in his van, and his 15-year-old son allegedly cemented their Union. The next day, Piett and mother Rosalyn got married for real.
But 5 months later, the man kidnapped the girl and took her to Mexico. They settled in a small village where the people took them for spouses. Rosalyn didn’t know Spanish, so she had to rely on Pietta around. In the end, she developed Stockholm syndrome, and she sympathized with his captor.
But over time, it became worse. For 19 years, Rosalyn was subjected to rape, beating and strangulation to the point of unconsciousness. The woman under oath said that Plett repeatedly beat her with a baseball bat.
Piett resorted to various tricks to the victim’s family and law enforcement officials could not find them. According to investigators, Piett used other names, forced Rosalyn to dye your hair black and wear glasses to change her appearance.
For 19 years, Rosalyn gave birth to 9 children, the first of which appeared in 2000. Platt threatened to harm them if she tried to escape. The woman still managed to do it in June 2016, when the man was on a business trip.
Police took more than a year to catch Pietta. He was hiding in the rural areas of Mexico, bribing anyone who saw him, and were ahead of the police. In the end, he was arrested in September 2017 in Mexico city, where he tried to obtain an American passport.
The announcement of the investigation Rosalyn McGinnis
During an interview with FOX23 Piett said that he wants people to know that he is innocent.
«Basically, it’s a lie, he said. — 99 percent a lie… I’m telling the truth».
When asked about the rape charges, he maintained his innocence.
«I never raped children, he said. — I made love with my wife. We have been married.»
He also said that the children, whom he accuses of ill-treatment, are part of the Mexican mafia.
«[My children] involved in [the Mexican Affairs] of the mafia, and they don’t like me,» said Piett.
Henry Piett after the arrest
Investigators say he was involved in many other crimes and been in contact with many of the larger criminal groups in the United States and in Mexico. It probably helped him to stay undercover for so many years.
«The victim has endured two decades of terrible abuse by the accused, said U.S. attorney Brian Quester. Her courage motivated her to escape and save their children and allowed investigators and prosecutors to seek justice on her behalf. In the end, her courage put an end to the rule of the defendant. of terror.»
The Prosecutor added that although the verdict will not heal «countless wounds» caused by Piatti, «he needs to stop him causing more.»
The court has not yet determined the punishment for the defendant.
