Man faces 11 charges after woman calls 911 saying she was being held captive at his home

Police have not identified the 24-year-old woman or her 8-month-old child.

August 20, 2019, 5:28 PM

A North Carolina man is facing nearly a dozen charges after allegedly kidnapping a woman and her child.

The investigation into the suspect, identified as 54-year-old James Bryan Peterson, began on Aug. 9 when a 911 call came in from a 24-year-old woman who said she was being held against her will.

"She had, for about four weeks, had been living at that residence prior to those charges coming out," Capt. James Rowell of the Pender County Sheriff's Department told ABC News.

Rowell said that the woman "came from another country. How she ended up here, we don't know."

"Ultimately, she was being held," Rowell said of the victim, whose name has not been publicly released.

Pender County sheriff's deputies responded to an address off a highway in Willard, North Carolina, authorities said in a news release.

The sheriff's department reported that the woman was found at the home, along with her 8-month-old child.

Peterson was arrested on four misdemeanor charges including two counts of assault on a female, one of assault by pointing a gun and another of sexual battery.

Peterson posted a $20,000 secured bond the next day and was released from the county jail, according to the Pender County Sheriff. But his story didn't end there.

PHOTO: James Bryan Peterson, 54, faces 11 charges after a woman called 911 saying she was being held at his North Carolina home.
James Bryan Peterson, 54, faces 11 charges after a woman called 911 saying she was being held at his North Carolina home.
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A subsequent search warrant was issued to search Peterson's residence, and he was arrested on seven additional felony charges, according to a news release from the Pender County Sheriff's Facebook page.

The felony charges include human trafficking, involuntary servitude and sexual servitude.

He turned himself in on Aug. 16 and is currently being held on a $2 million bond, according to the sheriff's office.

Peterson appeared in court on Monday, and waived his right for a court-appointed attorney, a spokesperson for the Pender County Court Clerk said told ABC News.

He is slated to appear in court on Sept. 10 for the four misdemeanor charges, and again on Sept. 11 for the seven felony charges, according to the court clerk spokesperson.

Peterson has no known attorney.