Man accused of sex slavery gets plea deal after woman recants

He was her Lord. She was his property.

He was the master. She was the slave.

That relationship was sealed with a sex-slave contract, signed with her name and marked in her blood. She was to wake him up every morning by performing sex acts. She was to wear a collar as a symbol of her commitment.

For nearly a year, court records say, the Southern Indiana couple's marriage was marred with manipulation, sexual abuse, physical torture and public humiliation.

Last August, the woman told police of the alleged abuse. Her husband, Kenneth Harden, was charged with nearly 40 felonies, including rape, criminal deviate conduct, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, intimidation, strangulation, domestic battery and criminal confinement.

The most serious offenses are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Instead, Harden will receive a two-year prison sentence and one year of probation.

If that seems lenient, here's why: The woman changed her statement.

"The victim's deposition was not consistent with her original police report," Jackson County Prosecutor AmyMarie Travis said. "It became clear to the state of Indiana that it was proper to offer a negotiated plea agreement that we offered."

Harden agreed to plead guilty to only one charge: criminal confinement, a Level 6 felony.

Victims of alleged domestic and sexual abuse recanting their original statements is not unheard of, experts say. Reasons vary, but often, the nature of the relationship greatly influences victims' decision to take back accusations they initially made against their partners.

"One of the core tenets of the crime of domestic violence is to make the victim feel isolated and helpless," said Catherine O'Connor, president and chief executive officer of The Julian Center, an Indianapolis nonprofit that provides services for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. "The abuser has ultimate control."

Sometimes, victims fear retaliation, said Amy Bonomi, chair of the human development and family studies department at Michigan State University.

"The most dangerous times for a domestic violence victim is when she leaves an abusive relationship," Bonomi said. "She's most likely to be at risk for death at the hands of her abuser. She's likely to suffer more severe abuse."

Other times, victims are manipulated into believing the abuse was, in some way, their fault, Bonomi said. Abusers also can promise to change or bring up memories of happier times in the relationship.

There's also the sympathy appeal.

"That's basically making the victim feel sorry for him in some way," said Bonomi, whose 2013 study found that the relationship portrayed in the book "Fifty Shades of Grey" mimics real-life cases of domestic abuse.

For instance, she said, abusers talk about how much they miss their partners, or how badly they're struggling in jail.

Whether such instances apply to Harden's case is unknown. His attorney, John Roche, declined to speak with The Indianapolis Star Thursday without first talking to his client. He could not be reached Friday afternoon.

Travis, the prosecutor, declined to make further statements, other than that the woman believes justice has been served.

A probable cause affidavit filed last September tells in excruciating detail the sexual and physical abuse that authorities say the woman suffered under the man she met on Craigslist. He spoke of God and family. She was smitten.

Not long after, they were husband and wife. But things quickly began to change.

Court records say the woman was often tied to a bed with a rope, her mouth sealed with duct tape.

On several occasions, Harden burned her with cigarettes, choked her until she was unconscious, locked her head in a box and kept her tied up for hours, until she was forced to urinate on herself, she told police. He also coerced her to have sex every day, she said.

Inside the couple's Seymour apartment, police found a binder labeled, "Sex Slave Manual 2014." It detailed the woman's role, chores and punishments as a slave.

Harden, who has been in jail since his arrest last year, is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing on March 6 in Jackson Circuit Court in Brownstown.

Star reporter Tim Evans contributed to this story.

Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.