Ashland man accused of enslaving woman gets 30 years

Associated Press


The man, Jordie Callahan, and his girlfriend were convicted in March of forced labor, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and conspiracy to illegally obtain prescription drugs.

The couple were accused of forcing the woman to shop, cook and clean up after their pit bulls and of using the dogs and a python to threaten the woman. They also threatened to harm her young daughter if the woman didn’t obey. The woman and her child were forced to live in a dark, damp basement without a bathroom and the woman was forced to commit sex acts, prosecutors said.


Federal prosecutors had urged Judge Benita Pearson to sentence Callahan, 27, to life in prison. His girlfriend, 31-year-old Jessica Hunt, is scheduled to be sentenced in Youngstown on Thursday.


Two other people were indicted in the case. One suspect, Dezerah Silsby, was accused of luring the woman into Callahan’s and Hunt’s house with ice cream. She agreed to testify against the couple as part of a plea agreement and was sentenced to 45 months in prison in April. Her boyfriend, Daniel Brown, who was accused of helping to enslave the woman, also agreed to testify and received a five-year sentence in March.