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Excelsior Springs man pleads not guilty to raping and kidnapping a woman he allegedly held captive

The Clay County Courthouse in downtown Liberty, Missouri
Peggy Lowe
/
KCUR 89.3
The Clay County Courthouse in downtown Liberty, Missouri

Timothy M. Haslett, Jr. faces nine felony charges for allegedly keeping a woman captive in his basement for more than a month until she escaped.

An Excelsior Springs man pleaded not guilty Friday to a long list of charges connected to the alleged beating and sexual assault of a woman who says he held her captive in his basement for more than a month.

Timothy M. Haslett, Jr., 40, appeared briefly in Clay County Court, his hands shackled and wearing a striped black and gray jail uniform. He was indicted on Tuesday on six felony charges of rape, sodomy and kidnapping, along with two lesser assault charges and another charge of endangering a child. In all, he’s charged with nine felonies.

Haslett is being held on $3 million bond.

The 22-year-old woman, identified in court documents by her initials, told authorities that Haslett picked her up on Prospect Avenue in September and held her captive in the basement of his home for more than a month. She says she escaped when Haslett took his child to school and she ran to a nearby home.

The woman told police that she was handcuffed by her wrists and ankles and that Haslett allegedly beat and raped her frequently. The child endangerment charge listed in the indictment accuses Haslett of leaving unsecured firearms near a child.

The indictment released Tuesday adds several new charges against Haslett, who was first charged in relation to the kidnapping last year, and lists 102 witnesses, including members of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Other witnesses are from Kansas City, Illinois and Florida.

I’m a veteran investigative reporter who came up through newspapers and moved to public media. I want to give people a better understanding of the criminal justice system by focusing on its deeper issues, like institutional racism, the poverty-to-prison pipeline and police accountability. Today this beat is much different from how reporters worked it in the past. I’m telling stories about people who are building significant civil rights movements and redefining public safety. Email me at lowep@kcur.org.
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