Police: Man held woman, children captive in Va. home for 2 years

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- A welfare visit by sheriff's deputies to a Virginia home uncovered a captive situation where a woman and two children had been kept indoors for two years, authorities said.

Deputies from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office visited the home last weekend after receiving a phone call from a concerned acquaintance.

Deputies say when they arrived, resident Kariem Ali Muhammad Moore was reluctant to let them inside. While they spoke to him, they said a woman and two children abruptly emerged from a side door and ran to officers.

The unidentified woman and the children, ages 8 and 11, said they had not been allowed outside the house in two years. The woman has been reported as Moore's girlfriend.

Authorities added that the children, who have never attended school, belong to Moore and the woman.

Moore, 43, was arrested and is being held without bond on three counts of abduction by force, intimidation or deception, and one count of assault and battery.

The woman was hospitalized, WWBT-TV reported, and the children are now staying with family members.