AMITE CITY, LA (WVUE) -
WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of abuse. View at your own discretion
An Amite woman with autism suffered horrific abuse at the hands of a five-member family, according to court documents.
The family members were accused of the abuse in federal court on Thursday.
The indictment alleged that the head of the family, 42-year-old Raylaine Knope, was the instigator of most of the abuse.
Raylaine has been accused of forcing the victim to do house and yard work in exchange for food and water.
The indictment also charged Raylaine's husband, 45-year-old Terry J. Knope II, and their children, 23-year-old Jody Lambert and 20-year-old Taylor Knope.
Lambert is Raylaine Knope's son and Taylor Knope is Terry Knope II's daughter, according to the indictment.
Bridget Lambert, 21, was charged separately in a bill of information, which accuses her of one count of conspiring to obtain forced labor, according to the documents.
It is unclear how the victim is related to the family.
Court documents revealed that the abuse began in August 2015 shortly after the victim's mother died.
The family and the victim moved into a mobile home in the 57500 block of Rushing Lane. The abuse continued through June 2016, according to the indictment.
The 22-year-old victim was held in a shed before she was moved to a cage in the backyard.
The family members were accused of shooting the victim with a BB gun, covering her with the contents from a septic tank, and forcing her to eat her recently deceased mother's cremated remains from a cereal bowl, according to court documents.
The victim was also ordered to make sexual advances to men in a sex-trafficking scheme, according to the indictment. Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said the prostitution plan was outlined by the family on social media.
According to the indictment, the family would threaten the victim with violence so she wouldn't escape.
