Woman charged with raping, beating niece

Police say 16-year-old girl lived 'Cinderella-type' life; aunt denies charges

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Woman charged with keeping niece prisoner
Nov. 18: Worcester, Mass., police allege Mara Escobar kept her 16-year-old niece as a slave, and that the girl had been physically and sexually assaulted. WHDH's Victoria Block reports.

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updated 12:28 p.m. ET Nov. 18, 2008

WORCESTER, Mass. - A Worcester woman was charged with raping and beating her teenage niece and forcing her to work for the rest of the household in a "Cinderella-type situation."

Mara Escobar was ordered held on $25,000 bail after pleading not guilty at her arraignment Monday to multiple charges, including assault and battery on a child and rape of a child with force.

Police Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst said the 16-year-old girl was forced to do housework and live in a sparsely furnished room while Escobar's two daughters had TVs, DVD players, video games and toys in their rooms.

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According to court records, the rapes, which involved objects, and assaults happened between June 2007 and Sept. 1. The girl was allegedly slammed to the floor, kicked and punched. She suffered two black eyes and a sprained wrist.

The girl told social workers in September that she was being abused and the case was referred to law enforcement, authorities said.

Station WHDH-TV quoted an unidentified lawyer for Escobar as saying she denied the charges of mistreatment. The girl had been having problems for years, the lawyer said.