Woman 'abducted and raped by man nicknamed 'Pirate' for five weeks' at remote Alaska cabin

Daniel Selovich has been charged with rape and abduction (AP)

A woman has told police she was abducted and held hostage for five weeks by a man nicknamed “Pirate” who raped her up to six times a day in a remote Alaska cabin.

The woman told officers that Daniel Selovich used duct tape to bind her to him at night and placed a rope around her neck so she could not run away.

The Associated Press said that according to an affadavit filed by Alaska State Trooper Matthew Iverson, the woman said it would be better for her to “run away from the cabin and possibly be eaten by a bear than continue being physically and sexually assaulted”.

Mr Selovich was this week brought before a court where he was arraigned on charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and assault. No pleas were entered at Fairbanks Superior Court. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for November 20.

Daniel Selovich has been charged with abduction and rape (Wikicommons)

It is not clear whether Mr Selovich has a lawyer or is being represented by the public defender’s office, the news agency said.

Police said the woman arrived in Fairbanks on September 26, and Mr Selovich met her at the airport with a truck. It is not clear how they knew each other or where she came from.

She claimed the first rape occurred in the vehicle within hours of being picked up. They spent a few days at a Fairbanks motel, where they engaged in consensual sex, authorities said.

On October 1, they flew to his cabin about 16 miles south of Manley Hot Springs, a tiny village at the end of Elliott Highway, the only road link to Fairbanks. They lived in a tent for a week while repairs were being made to the cabin, and that’s when the beatings and rapes began, she told Mr Iverson.

She said Selovich beat her with his fists and belts, kicked her and bit her, and that the sex was not consensual.

The officer wrote: “Daniel tied a rope around her neck which was also tied to a roof support beam, and he also tied her hands together so she could not move

Mr Iverson said troopers who searched the cabin with a warrant found a knife, several pieces of duct-tape and a roll of the tape. Troopers also found a rope tied to the roof beam.

The woman contacted a friend through Facebook Messenger, requesting a medical evacuation because of chest pains and possible pneumonia.

Troopers say the military helicopter from Fort Wainwright could not make the trip Saturday because of poor weather but picked up both Selovich and the woman Sunday and delivered them to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment.