Latest news with #sexslavery
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
OnlyFans model found on Dubai roadside feared to have been 'tortured by Russians'
A Ukrainian OnlyFans model who was found seriously injured on the side of a road in Dubai is now feared to have been 'tortured by Russians', after friends feared she had been 'sold into sex slavery.' Maria Kovalchuk, 20, went into a coma and suffered horrific injuries including a broken spine and limbs after she was discovered on a roadside on March 19 after having 'fallen from a height'. The adult content creator was expected to attend a party but instead mysteriously vanished. Now a source close to the Ukrainian model has insisted that she was abused by unidentified Russians in the United Arab Emirates before being found. The source also denied multiple reports that Kovalchuk had left Dubai and was recovering in Ukraine. The source said: 'We are in Dubai, and it was Russian citizens who tortured Maria.' The source continued: 'UAE citizens have nothing to do with it. That's all I can say for now.' They 'hoped' local police were investigating the 'Russians' who 'tortured' her, and also condemned 'false' reporting surrounding the case. The new account of events comes after multiple Ukrainian and Russian outlets said Maria had been abused after attending a party in Dubai. Ukrainian news outlet 24TV said another model who had 'managed to escape from the fateful party' claimed it was a 'trap'. The local outlet reported: 'Before the party and the trip to the villa, women were forced to sign a contract, according to the terms of which they had to simply accompany wealthy men. 'However, in reality, women were raped, beaten and mistreated.' The source - named as Ksenia - said: 'Loud screams were constantly heard from closed rooms.' OnlyFans model, Dubai-based Alyona Omovich told Ukrainian outlet Obozrevatel: 'You can tell from her appearance that she was involved in something horrific. And that horror, apparently, is what led to her being so badly broken.' She revealed a circuit of degrading 'elite parties' where foreign models and influencers are 'promised large sums - tens of thousands of dollars - in exchange for actions that border on violence, humiliation, and even physical mutilation'. Maria is said to be 'getting better' but is still receiving treatment following her horrific ordeal.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Mystery deepens over OnlyFans model, 20, found with horrific injuries in Dubai as shocking 'Russian torture' claim emerges
A Ukrainian OnlyFans model found seriously injured in Dubai on the side of the road is now feared to have been 'tortured by Russians', after friends feared she had been 'sold into sex slavery.' Maria Kovalchuk, 20, went into a coma and suffered horrific injuries including a broken spine and limbs after she was discovered on a roadside on March 19 after having 'fallen from a height'. The prominent adult content creator had been due at a party but mysteriously vanished. Her friends expressed fears she had been kidnapped into 'sexual slavery' before she was found 10 days later. Now a source close to the Ukrainian model has insisted that Maria was abused by unidentified Russians in the United Arab Emirates before being found. The source also denied multiple reports that Maria had left Dubai and was recovering in Ukraine. 'We are in Dubai,' said the source. 'And it was Russian citizens who tortured Maria. 'UAE citizens have nothing to do with it. That's all I can say for now.' The source 'hoped' local police were investigating the 'Russians' who 'tortured' her, and also condemned 'false' reporting surrounding the case. The new account comes after multiple Ukrainian and Russian reports said Maria had been abused after attending a party in Dubai. Ukrainian news outlet 24TV said another model who had 'managed to escape from the fateful party' claimed it was a 'trap'. 'Before the party and the trip to the villa, women were forced to sign a contract, according to the terms of which they had to simply accompany wealthy men,' the local outlet reported. 'However, in reality, women were raped, beaten and mistreated.' The source - named as Ksenia - said: 'Loud screams were constantly heard from closed rooms.' OnlyFans model, Dubai-based Alyona Omovich told Ukrainian outlet Obozrevatel: 'You can tell from her appearance that she was involved in something horrific. And that horror, apparently, is what led to her being so badly broken.' She revealed a circuit of degrading 'elite parties' where foreign models and influencers are 'promised large sums —tens of thousands of dollars — in exchange for actions that border on violence, humiliation, and even physical mutilation'. Maria is said to be 'getting better' but continues to receive treatment following her horrific ordeal.
CBS News
07-05-2025
- CBS News
Survivor, former Colorado police officer detail sex trafficking in Northglenn home: "It was pure evil"
A Colorado woman, who says she was held as a "sex slave" for years in a Northglenn home, and a former police investigator involved in the case, say convicted human trafficker William Tidwell was "pure evil." They say he held as many as 20 women in his basement over the last five years, getting them to sign a 75-page contract that dictated he was the "master" and they were his "slaves." The former police investigator said the contract "basically gave Tidwell the right to do whatever he wanted to them whenever he wanted." One of the women held by Tidwell for more than four years said, "It was so degrading and I felt so worthless." Both the woman -- who is now 24 -- and the officer agreed to their first media interviews about the case on the condition that their real identities not be used. The investigator still works in an undercover law enforcement capacity. He said he came to know Tidwell years ago when Northglenn police believed Tidwell was "grooming" a 14-year-old neighbor. William Tidwell Boulder County Sheriff's Office The investigator next heard about Tidwell in 2023 after the man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman near Nederland. When police executed a search warrant at Tidwell's home related to that Nederland case, they found an unexpected scene; three women emerged from the basement. They were "living in an environment that seemed like they were being held captive in a way," said the investigator. "It seemed as if they had been abused in some fashion. The shock of what they were saying caused us to say, "We need to remove them from this environment right now." One of the women in the home, who called herself "Emily" during an interview with CBS News Colorado, said she was 17 and living in a state in the south when she first encountered Tidwell in an online chat room. He was 46. She said she came from a "chaotic" childhood, was extremely vulnerable, and spent all of her time either at school or in her room, online. "I had never been taught the dangers of the outside world or online. I almost can't believe how naive I was to the world," said Emily. She said she began an online conversation with Tidwell that saw him gaining her trust by seeming personable and relatable. "Getting any sort of attention or anyone relating to me felt good, and there are all sorts of people who prey on that," she said. The grooming went on for six months, with Tidwell representing that he had been a police officer and could be trusted. Police and prosecutors say that was a ruse and that Tidwell was never in law enforcement. Eventually, he told Emily that he was willing to "rescue" her and provide her with love, a family, and a safe environment. She and police now say it was the complete opposite. Tidwell drove from Colorado to her home and picked her up in the middle of the night. "I was so nervous; the most nervous I've ever been in my life," Emily said. She told police that the day after she met Tidwell, he raped her at a gas station while they were on the road. When they arrived in Northglenn, she said Tidwell put her in a basement room that she says was the size of a queen-sized mattress, had no natural light, and was covered in cobwebs. She said there were other rooms in the basement filled with other women. "All the rooms were filled constantly," she said, by women who also came from rough backgrounds and were vulnerable. "He made a comment that, finding women that are broken, they're easier to get." She said that in the years she was in the home, she estimates more than 20 women were brought into the home. She said Tidwell presented her with a 75-page manual or contract that outlined everything from what she was supposed to wear to who she talked to to what she called him. "We had to call him 'master' or 'sir' and he would only refer to us as his slaves," she said. "For us, it was whatever he wanted to do whenever he wanted to do it. 100% of our lives were dictated by him." She said he manipulated the women psychologically, physically beat her badly if she didn't cooperate, and threatened to kill her family members. "I was beaten and bloodied on almost a daily or weekly basis. You can't just walk away because if you walk out of the house or say you're going to leave, there's physical violence, threats against you and your family." She said sex with Tidwell was a daily occurrence. "There was really no consent. It was just saying, 'come here, this is happening, go away now.' Almost daily," she said, "but that was all up to him. All of us, one of us, all of us together. It was up to whatever he felt like." Police documents and the investigator interviewed by CBS News Colorado corroborate Emily's story. "I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of these girls being abused," the investigator said. "He had this mindset (that) they were his, he was allowed to sell them, give them to his friends, use them whenever he wanted." Tidwell eventually forced the women into performing sexual acts online to make money or by acting as prostitutes. Police say they recovered numerous text messages, electronic data, and financial records that verified Tidwell forced the women into the sex trade, with him pocketing the money. Emily says Tidwell strong-armed her into having sex for money "from a couple times a week to a few times a day. I hated it. I have never felt worse about myself. I felt so out of control and violated," she said. After police discovered the women in Tidwell's home in August 2023, he was charged with numerous felonies stemming from trafficking and abusing women and children. In March of this year, he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child, assault in the second degree causing serious bodily injury, human trafficking for sexual servitude, and sexual exploitation of a child possessing exploitative material depicting a child under age 12. Tidwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason said, "he preyed on vulnerable individuals, using lies, intimidation, and violence to manipulate his victims into submission. Human trafficking is real -- it happens here in Adams County and throughout Colorado." "I sat back and cried and realized it was over," Emily said of the imprisonment of Tidwell. "I was free. I remember sitting at the airport on the way to my grandmother's house, looking at planes taking off and crying," she said. "I was just so excited to have my freedom and my life back." The law enforcement agent interviewed for this report suggested some tips for parents: Be more aware of what your kids are doing; Teach them the realities of the internet and social media. Pay attention to their search history and what chat rooms or forums they are in. For young women online, be wary of another person who portrays themselves as a guardian-like figure, or suggests they have had the same experiences and are "just like you."
