Oklahoma Man Abducted Stepdaughter, 11, Forced Her To Be ‘Wife’ For 19 Years: FBI

WAGONER, OK — An Oklahoma man accused of holding his stepdaughter captive for nearly two decades and repeatedly raping and torturing her has been arrested, according to the district attorney in the case. Henri Piette, 62, was arrested Thursday in Mexico and returned to Oklahoma Friday. He previously had been charged with first-degree rape and other offenses after the woman, now 33, and her children managed to escape from a tent in rural Mexico and made their way to safety at the U.S. Embassy.

The bizarre case began to unfold in June 2016 when Rosalynn McGinnis — who investigators say was 11 when she was kidnapped in 1997 from her school in Poteau, Oklahoma — made her dramatic escape. Piette is accused of grabbing her from the school after the girl’s mother left him because of assaults, investigators have said. Piette and the woman’s mother reportedly had been living together at a women’s shelter in Porteau when the breakup occurred.

Patch’s policy is to not name the victims of sexual assault unless they come forward; McGinnis has been speaking publicly about her ordeal. She told People magazine last year that she wanted the world to know about the more than 19 years in which she was raped, beaten with baseball bats, stabbed and choked until she was unconscious, saying that she wanted Piette “stopped” before he could hurt others and for “justice to be served.”

“I knew if I didn’t get out of there, I’d either go insane or I would end up dying and leaving my kids with that man,” she told People in August. (Sign up for newsletters and real-time news alerts from your local Oklahoma Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

After she was kidnapped, McGinnis was introduced to Piette’s other children as “their new mother,” an FBI agent wrote in a court affidavit filed in Wagoner County District Court, The Oklahoman reported. She was “married” to Piette in a van in Wagoner, Oklahoma, and even given a ring, according to court affidavits. The “ceremony” was performed by one of Piette’s sons, who was 15 at the time, investigators said.

The FBI agent wrote that after Piette introduced McGinnis as “their new mother,” they traveled around the United States, including various locations in Oklahoma, Texas, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico and Arizona, as well as in Mexico. In an attempt to escape detection, Piette changed their names repeatedly, an FBI special agent wrote in the court affidavit. When they were in Oklahoma, the FBI agent said, Piette forced McGinnis “to mail letters so people would believe” she was still there.

According to the court documents, McGinnis was raped “multiple times a day almost every day” during the nearly two decades.

When she escaped, she took eight of her nine children with her. A son who had run away earlier has since been reunited with his mother, according to reports. The children are ages 2 to 17.

After she escaped, McGinnis hid out until the U.S. Consulate and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children could make arrangements for her return to the United States.

“It is believed that Piette has resided in Mexico and or Central America for a very long time and has deep ties to criminal organizations in Mexico, which can assist him in evading law enforcement,” according to the FBI affidavit. “During the week of September 10th, Piette was contacting persons who aided Rosalynn’s escape from Mexico and threatening these individuals.”

After fleeing Piette, McGinnis contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and told them what she had been through. “I was still scared, but it was wonderful not to have to lie anymore,” McGinnis told People.

Since returning to the United States, McGinnis has worked with the JAYC Foundation, an organization founded by Jaycee Dugard, who was 11 when she was kidnapped from South Lake Tahoe, California, while walking to the school bus. She was held for 18 years before she and her two children were rescued. Her foundation helps victims like herself and McGinnis reconnect with their families through an extensive, multi-disciplinary approach.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Vice President Robert Lowery said McGinnis showed uncommon courage and “a lot of bravery.”

“She wasn’t only concerned for herself,” Lowery said, “but for her children.”

McGinnis told People she is looking forward to piecing her life back together without Piette.

“My future seems bright — a lot brighter,” she said. “Life still is hard, but it’s not near as hard as it ever was with him.”

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