LIBERTY, Mo. – Prosecutors announced on Tuesday that a grand jury had indicted Timothy M. Haslett, a Missouri man from Excelsior Springs, on nine new charges in connection to allegations that he kept a woman hidden in his basement and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
The charges include one count of rape, four counts of sodomy, two counts of second-degree assault, and one count each of kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
The Clay County Prosecutor, Zachary Thompson, stated that Haslett is being held on a $3 million bond and could face up to five life sentences and an additional 36 years in prison if found guilty. The charges replace the previous charges of rape, kidnapping, and assault that were filed after Haslett’s arrest in October 2022.
Thompson commended the bravery of the woman who came forward and the efforts of the 16 different agencies involved in the investigation, which has included over 100 leads and more than 1,200 hours of work. The child endangerment charge is related to leaving unsecured weapons accessible to the child, according to court documents. Thompson did not comment on whether detectives are investigating the possibility of other victims.
Haslett’s public defender, Tiffany Leuty, did not respond to a request for comment, and Haslett’s next court hearing is scheduled for Friday. The victim, who has not been named, stated that she managed to escape when Haslett left the house to take his child to school and then ran to a neighbor’s home for help.
She was reportedly found wearing latex lingerie and a metal collar with what appeared to be a padlock on the front.
News by Breaking911
