WAGONER COUNTY, Okla. - A man accused of heinous acts garnering national attention, and under investigation by the FBI, appeared in court Thursday morning.
Silent with his head down, 63-year-old Henri Michele Piette walked into a Wagoner County courtroom.
His steps preceded by an affidavit full of disgusting accusations made against him by his step-daughter to the FBI.
“It’s hard to describe when you’ve been through so much trauma in your life, especially when the man that did this to you is not caught," said his step-daughter Rosalynn McGinnis.
McGinnis spoke with People Magazine in August.
"You’re always looking over your should thinking he’s going to show up," McGinnis said.
Documents suggest Piette took McGinnis against her will in 1997, had sex with her for the first time in 1993 and married her against her will at the age of 11.
“All I know is I was going to get away. I was going to go back to United States so my kids at least would be safe,” she said.
McGinnis claims he picked her up from school one day and held her captive for 19 years, moving her from state to state and sexually assaulting her multiple times a day.
“That’s the first thing we think about are the victims. The individuals that have been harmed by people in our jurisdiction," said District 27 Attorney Jack Thorp.
Attorney Thorp says he plans to see that justice is done. As a result, the attorney has filed four charges against Piette: Two counts of Lewd Molestation, First-Degree Rape and Child Abuse by Injury.
“We’re going to do the best we possibly can within the rules of evidence and following the law to help them," he said.
McGinnis escaped Piette last June after he moved them to Mexico.
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for somebody to find me,” McGinnis said.
That's when she told the FBI her story.
The agency believes he has "deep ties to criminal organizations in Mexico" and arrested him in September.
“The future looks bright, and I’m happy to be where I am today and I’ve dreamed about this day since the day I was taken," she said.
Now in handcuffs, Piette walked back to his cell until November 30 when the D.A. anticipates a date for a preliminary hearing will be set.
Thursday's court date was only a Preliminary Hearing Conference.
It's something the court said has to take place before a Preliminary Hearing, and Piette's public Defender Lauren Blake decided Piette wasn't ready for his actual hearing so she put it off.
Defended Blake demanded 2 Works for You not ask her client questions, and she refused to provide us her with her contact information.
