Venezuelan man accused of enslaving woman in apartment for 31 years

Matias Salazar, 56, has been charged with sexually enslaving a woman. Photos / Caraotadigital.net, Yohanamarra Twitter

A Venezuela man has been accused of sexually enslaving a woman whom he held captive for 31 years in an apartment building.

Matias Salazar, 56, has been arrested and charged with the crimes of psychological violence, sexual violence and sexual slavery of a 49-year-old woman identified only as Morella, prosecutors said in a statement.

According to shocked neighbours who spoke to Reuters, the man had lived across the street from where the woman was held with another woman and his daughter in the city of Maracay, near the capital Caracas.

Residents who lived in both buildings and wanted to remain anonymous said they had not noticed anything out of the ordinary during the time and that Salazar had always been friendly to them.

In a press conference, Salazar's lawyer Jose Briceno said that his client was innocent and a victim of a media campaign.

On January 24, Morella escaped from the apartment building and sought help at a women's advocacy agency nearby, prosecutors said.

The case was brought to the public's attention on February 5 when it was published by Venezuelan online news website Cronica Uno.

Neighbours said they saw Morella return to the apartment where she was held captive along with authorities after the report was made.

"She had three changes of clothes inside that apartment, some old shoes, a twin bed on the floor, an old fan, an old TV," said one neighbour who entered the apartment with Morella at the time.

"People attack the neighbours, asking why we did not report it, but we really did not know."