14 hours Ago By Amy Larson
(KRON) -- A woman was held captive, tortured, and raped by an Oakland man for two years. Her kidnapper, 57-year-old Ian Edard Kroe, was found guilty of 33 felony charges this week following a jury trial in San Mateo County Superior Court. Kroe was arrested in 2022 by police officers who found the 74-year-old woman imprisoned, naked, and injured inside a Belmont Hyatt hotel room.
She was unable to move on her own, prosecutors said. The woman had been held captive between the summers of 2020 and 2022. Kroe knew his victim because she was close friends with his mother.
In 2016, Kroe's mother died and the victim reached out to express sympathy, prosecutors said. Kroe "struck up a friendship" with the victim and eventually convinced her to travel to the Bay Area. Prosecutors said the victim was not allowed to leave the hotel room and lived under constant death threats.
"Defendant also raped and engaged in sexual acts against victim's will numerous times," prosecutors wrote. All of the victim's finances, including bank accounts, were taken over and drained by Kroe, prosecutors said. The woman was able to secretly contact a friend in New Mexico in August of 2022 and the friend alerted police.
When Belmont Police Department officers found her in the hotel, she had a broken bone and bruising on her body. Judge Rachel Holt presided over Kroe's 23-day trial. After deliberating for five hours on Thursday, jurors delivered a guilty verdict on all 33 felony counts.
Kroe is facing a prison sentence of 25 years to life. He remains in jail without bail..
