4th suspect charged in Ohio enslavement case due in court; FBI says she smashed victim’s hand

CLEVELAND – The first of four suspects is due in federal court in a forced labour case alleging an Ohio woman was held captive with her child, threatened and made to do housework.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Cleveland says bond for 21-year-old suspect Dezerah Silsby will be set Thursday in the case that originated in Ashland.

The charge against Silsby was unsealed Wednesday after she turned herself in. It wasn’t clear whether she had an attorney, and her case was not yet listed in online court records.

An FBI affidavit says Silsby admitted she helped retrieve the alleged victims from their relative’s house and had slammed the woman’s hand in a door and smashed it with a rock.

The other suspects are expected to have bond hearings Monday.

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