A Woman inside a Cave for 15 Years in Indonesia

In Indonesia, a woman has been recently traced being inside a cave for 15 years. She was held captive by a spiritual healer who raped her regularly. The 28-year-old woman was recovered recently from under a large rock near Bajugan village in the Sulawesi Province of Indonesia.

Police received a tip-off that the 83-year-old village priest named Jago has held captive a woman. Police, then detained and started interrogating Jago, and found the details of the girl and then rescued her from the cave.

It all began in the year 2003, when the girl was first brought to the priest at the age of 13 by her family. Jago who is known for magical healing methods and who offers alternative medicines was a popular figure in the area. He then convinced her parents, that she had to be left far away for her recovery from the disease and they also agreed. But after sometime, she was reported as missing after her family failed to track her down.

Apart from the residents of the village, she was also consulted by the villagers from far off places too, who faced problems in their marital, romantic or business affairs. A local said, “When he treated people, he would act as if he was being possessed by some spirit and so many people used to believe him”.

Meanwhile, police say, Jago used to bring the girl to his house every night, but during the day she was forced to stay in the small prison-like cave. “The victim seems to have been brainwashed, making her afraid to run away and afraid to meet other people because she was being watched by a jin”, a village local said.

According to Police, Jago has sexually assaulted the girl for the past 15 years on the pretext of doing magic or witchcraft. Magdalena Sitorus, Commissioner of the National Commission of Violence Against Women, said, “Since the perpetrator was well-respected in the village, there is a possibility that there are other victims that have not yet come forward because they are afraid. The victim should be brought to a hospital for psychological and reproductive health examinations, who knows what kind of changes 15 years have brought her”.

Jago will now face 15 years in prison as he has been charged under the Child Protection Law regarding sexual abuse of underage children of the country.