ATLANTA – An Orlando woman was held against her will inside a million-dollar Atlanta-area mansion after a man hired her to work as dancer and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave, according to police.
Officers helped eight women leave the home after the 20-year-old called 911 Tuesday morning, police said. In the 911 recording, the caller asks the dispatcher for help getting out of a "bad situation."
The woman said her boss carries a gun, sent her to get plastic surgery and told her she could leave any time she wished — but threatened to kill her if she did.
Seven other women and several children were living in the home, she said, but she was the only one who wanted to leave.
Kenndric Roberts, 33, is charged with false imprisonment and trafficking a person for labor. He is in jail with an initial court appearance scheduled for Thursday. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the charges.
"What we believe is he was luring these women to this house with promises of either modeling careers or financial assistance. We're not 100 percent sure on that. The investigation is continuing," Sandy Springs police Sgt. Sam Worsham told WSB-TV.
The FBI had received two previous trafficking complaints against Roberts and told Sandy Springs police detectives that he is a "violent pimp," according to court records.
FBI officials said Roberts owns "Live Star Nation" and recruits girls he calls his "diamond kitties" from local strip clubs for his business.
During the 911 call, as the dispatcher learns more about the situation, her surprise is evident and her tone at times incredulous: "Wait. Did you say you're in a house full of girls?"
"Mmm hmm," the woman responds.
"And somebody's threatening to kill you if you leave?"
"Mmm hmm."
"Who's threatening to kill you? One of the girls?"
"No, our boss."
"Your boss?"
According to Fulton County court records the victim met Roberts on a website for "sugar daddies."
The woman said it initially seemed like a good situation because she could make money for dancing, but the situation quickly turned bad.
The victim and other women in the house were presented with contracts and offered a signing bonus of $200,000 once the contract was completed, but there was no end date listed, according to the arrest affidavit.
Roberts sent the victim to the Dominican Republic to receive breast augmentation surgery and other women in the house were sent to work at the Pink Pony strip club, records show.
All the women were required to get tattoos of "LOP" and numbers on their wrists, according to court records. The numbers were in reference to a gang member whose nickname was "King Lop."
She described the home in a gated subdivision as "very nice," with cameras inside. According to Fulton County property records, the two-story brick home measures 6,806 square feet and is valued at $976,300.
Roberts also lived in the house and generally had an AK-47 with him at all times, the woman said. All the women were having sex with him, the victim said.
The victim said that the sex wasn't "forced," but she felt like she couldn't say no to him.
Roberts used one of the women's names to register all his vehicles because she had good credit, the victim told police.
Throughout the 14-minute 911 recording, the woman repeatedly said nothing illegal was going on but that she was scared to leave.
"Does he know holding someone against their will is against the law?" the dispatcher asked.
"He is so smart. He knows exactly what he's doing," the woman said. "He'll be like, 'You can leave whenever you want,' and then he'll, like, threaten you right after."
The suspect once threatened to "pay someone to cut her chest open, take out the implants and cut her up," the victim told police.
The woman told the dispatcher that she was planning to run out of the house and call a car to pick her up and take her to the airport because she had to catch a flight home to Orlando that friends booked for her.
The woman asked the dispatcher to have officers pull up in front of the house and said she would go out to meet them.
After the woman got out of the house, Roberts called 911 to report that one of his "employees" stole from him.
In an interview with police, Roberts said he spent $30,000 on the victim, including the plastic surgery.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.