REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- A lumber mill worker accused of kidnapping a young woman and holding her as his sex slave for seven years said he was torn between his love for her and his family.
Cameron Hooker, 31, who testified Friday as the first witness in his own defense, said the abduction of Colleen Stan in 1977 started as a spur of the moment decision.
He said he and his wife had previously discussed kidnapping a bondage mate. But after they had kept the 21-year-old woman for several days, he said, they realized if she were freed, she might go to the police.
'I didn't know how to terminate it,' he said. 'We didn't know how to let her go without ending up in jail.'
Hooker is charged in the San Mateo County Superior Court jury trial with 16 counts of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment. He is accused of abducting Stan as she hitchhiked near Red Bluff and holding her until she fled to her family in Riverside last August.
Janice Hooker, 27, now estranged from her husband, was given immunity from prosecution for her testimony as a witness.
The defendant said he came to love Stan. When his wife began dating other men, he said, it bothered him at first, 'but I was in love with Colleen so I wished Jan would go out, find another guy and go away.'
He said he and Stan had talked about marriage.
When Stan and Mrs. Hooker fled with the Hookers' two young girls, Stan telephoned him before catching a bus to Riverside, he said. 'She told me she wanted to get out from between me and Jan. She didn't want us to get a divorce because of the kids.
'She said it was time for her to go home. I was crying. Saying goodbye was hard.'
Stan called the next day from her parents' home, he said. 'We told each other we loved each other. She told me she wanted me and Jan to get back together for the kids' sake.'
Both Mrs. Hooker and Stan testified Hooker said he wanted to get more slaves. But he said, 'It was partly Colleen's idea. She suggested it might help with Jan's jealousy.'
Hooker acknowledged that he practiced bondage on Stan during her captivity. 'I was impressed with Colleen's ability to withstand pain,' he said. 'Colleen never cried. She would take almost anything I put her through. She could handle it.'
Hooker said his wife ordered most of the punishments.
