Dafni man charged with rape, torture given more time to prepare defense

A 52-year-old man charged with raping and torturing a 20-year-old woman whom he had been holding hostage in his basement apartment in Athens appeared before an investigating magistrate in Athens on Monday and was given an extension until Tuesday to prepare his defense.

“I was not even given permission to make a phone call to find a lawyer,” he told journalists outside the Evelpidon court complex on Monday. 

Police arrested the 52-year-old Friday. He had been holding the woman hostage since Tuesday in his basement apartment in the Athens neighborhood of Dafni.

According to reports, the woman, a university student, had gone to work at the home of the suspect as a part-time housekeeper. However, after working at the apartment on three different days, she went missing on Tuesday.

Her parents reported her disappearance to police, who tracked her down to the 52-year-old’s apartment, which they raided after breaking down the door.

The woman was found tied up in a room which was fitted with cameras. She was hospitalized in a state of severe shock.