Teen escapes 6-day hostage situation where she was raped, police say. Suspected captor free on bail
A 17-year-old girl was held hostage for nearly a week and raped at a Big Bear Lake-area home before escaping from a locked car, according to the San Bernardino Police Department.
Police said in a statement released Tuesday that the near-weeklong hostage situation ended Thursday when the girl escaped and sought help from employees at a local business at the Village, a popular Big Bear shopping district. The employees notified law enforcement.
Police have identified 25-year-old Zackary Dourousseau of Sugarloaf as the victim’s alleged captor. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment and statutory rape.
He is free on bail, according to San Bernardino County jail records.
Ryan Gainer’s death has heightened concerns from activists about law enforcement’s use of force against people suffering from mental health issues and the lack of supportive services available for families when they call police for help.
Police investigators said Dourousseau picked up the teenager in his vehicle on the night of March 1. They claim he drove her to his home, where he asked to have sex with her. Police said, after the girl refused, he held her hostage for six days, providing her with little water or food.
“Dourousseau would not let the victim leave and made her consume large amounts of alcohol,” the police statement read. “Dourousseau forced the victim to have sex with him in exchange for her freedom.”
Police said the suspect forced the victim to drive with him to where he works at the Village on Thursday, where he intended for her to remain in his locked car. Police said she made her escape, and afterward Dourousseau was taken into custody at his home in the 300 block of Los Angeles Avenue in Sugarloaf.
Police did not say if the girl knew the suspect before last week.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
