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Wiccan Couple Allegedly Kept Woman For Kinky Sex And Slavery

By Chelsea Hoffman
Published on: 08:23 PST, Jun 15, 2016

A Wiccan couple in North Carolina have been accused of crimes associated with human trafficking and child abuse. However, their loved ones are hitting back at the charges. Star News Online reports that relatives of Cheyenne and Michael Kupper believe that they are being discriminated against via religious bigotry. They also say that the couple is being “framed.”

The Wilmington couple were arrested on Friday at their residence, where authorities issued a search warrant. The Port City Daily reports that 33-year-old Cheyenne Kupper and 35-year-old Michael Kupper are accused of holding an adult woman against her will in their home for more than a year.

Police in Wilmington found out about the alleged crimes when the 27-year-old woman notified them from the New Hanover Regional Medical Center on March 21, 2015. The alleged victim was at the hospital being treated for non-life threatening injuries when authorities arrived to interview her. It was there that they were told details that sparked an investigation, which lasted more than a year, leading to the arrests of the Wiccan couple.

A relative of the Wiccan couple says that the alleged victim is framing them because she is angry and wants revenge. She told reporters that she was living with the family as a housekeeper, but was recently fired. She claims that the woman was also angry because she was smitten with Michael Kupper, and wanted him for herself.

Allegations against the Kuppers involve holding the unnamed victim hostage for over a year while she was used as a servant, among other “duties.” However, the family member who is identified as Elisa Barrett says that the woman willingly participated with the couple in their sexual “lifestyle.” Barrett claims that the woman was part of their “coven,” and participated in sexual BDSM games with the Wilmington couple as a willing party. She hasn’t clarified in any interview as to why and how she knows all of these things.

Due to the nature of the accusations against the Wilmington couple, they have been charged with human trafficking. However, when authorities searched the home, they allegedly discovered evidence of child neglect, which led to associated charges. The family member defending the Wiccan couple says that all of these charges stem from religious bigotry in the state of North Carolina.

“North Carolina is a Christian state and all of this religious stuff is frowned upon.”

Whether Elisa Barrett is right or not about her accusations of bigotry, the state does have a reported history of targeting Wiccans and similar spiritual types. In 1951, a law was passed in the southern state that prohibited the practice of divination and any such “related craft” in various counties. The law was signed, stamped, and renewed multiple times, even in the mid and late 1990s. This law allowed for some counties in North Carolina to arbitrarily target businesses and individuals who were “serious practitioners” of witchcraft and divination. Also, in the 1980s, Republican Senator Jesse Helms (North Carolina) amended a bill which would make anyone promoting witchcraft be ineligible for tax exempt status. So it’s apparent that there is a history of discriminatory practices against Wiccans and similar spiritual groups/individuals in the state of North Carolina. In fact, discrimination based on religious bias is rampant all over the United States.

Nonetheless, authorities in Wilmington claim that they have shown absolutely no religious bias while handling this case. The police department has also encouraged anyone to file an official complaint if they feel that they’ve been discriminated against for any reason.

[Photo via Wilmington Police Dept.]

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