Ohio man accused of enslaving woman gets 30 years

7/22/2014

FILE - This undated file photo released by the Ashland County Sheriff's Office shows Jessica L. Hunt. A jury in March found Jordie Callahan, 27, guilty of forced labor, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and a drug charge. That jury found the girlfriend, Hunt, guilty of the same three charges. She is expected to be sentenced Thursday, July 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ashland County Sheriffs Office, File)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLEVELAND  — A northeast Ohio man convicted of enslaving a mentally disabled woman through abuse and intimidation has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The man, Jordie Callahan, was found guilty in Youngstown in March of forced labor, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and a drug charge. His girlfriend, 31-year-old Jessica Hunt, was also convicted on identical counts. She is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.

Prosecutors say Callahan and Hunt threatened to harm the woman’s young daughter if the woman did not obey them. Authorities say the couple kept her and the child in a damp, dark basement without a bathroom, threatened the woman with a python and pit bulls and forced her to engage in sex acts.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for the 27-seven-year-old Callahan.