Houston police are investigating a disturbing case of human trafficking after a woman was caught on camera being forcibly dragged back into captivity by an illegal alien. Prosecutors say the victim, a 44-year-old Chinese immigrant, was lured from New York to Texas under false promises and then held hostage and sexually assaulted.

Authorities have charged 22-year-old Jose Armando Carcamo-Perdomo, a Honduran national who illegally crossed into the U.S. in 2020, with kidnapping. He is currently being held on a $150,000 bond and an ICE detainer. Prosecutors allege he tied the woman up and sexually assaulted her after she tried to flee.

A neighbor who witnessed the attack captured it on video and immediately reported what he believed was a child abduction. “As soon as I drove out of the fence at work, I called 911,” he told KTRK-TV. “I thought it was a child being taken.”

Police later discovered the woman bound inside a closet when they arrived on the scene. She told officers she had been promised a well-paying massage job in Houston but was instead held captive in a trailer home for five days without food or water. Her passport was seized by the traffickers, leaving her stranded and powerless.

The incident has sent shockwaves through the community and sparked fears of a larger trafficking operation. According to authorities, this may just be the tip of the iceberg.

“She tried to leave, but this defendant carried her back inside the residence without her consent,” a Harris County judge explained during the bond hearing. “He tied her up and then sexually assaulted her.”

The neighbor who made the call expressed deep regret that he hadn’t done more to uncover the situation sooner. “I’m angry with myself that I didn’t pick up on it sooner or maybe done more, even though, like I said, I had that feeling that something wasn’t right,” he said. “It could have made a bigger difference.”

While Carcamo-Perdomo’s attorney claims he is “shocked” by the allegations and maintains his innocence, ICE officials confirmed he has been living in the U.S. illegally since 2020. They are now investigating whether he’s connected to a larger human trafficking network that preys on vulnerable immigrants with false job offers and then traps them in forced servitude.

Trafficking experts say the victim’s case is not unusual. Many foreign women brought to the U.S. under the pretense of employment are funneled into illegal massage parlors or worse. The confiscation of identification documents, isolation from communities, and physical confinement are common tactics used by traffickers to control their victims.

Authorities are urging anyone with information about similar cases or other potential victims to come forward. The woman is reportedly safe and receiving care.

This case underscores the growing problem of human trafficking linked to illegal immigration and how easily predators can exploit the nation’s porous borders. It also raises urgent questions about the Biden administration’s border enforcement policies and the need for more aggressive federal action against trafficking networks.

As the investigation continues, Houston residents and lawmakers alike are calling for stronger protections for trafficking victims and harsher penalties for offenders—especially those in the country illegally.