DEFIANCE, Mo. — A 20-year-old Indian man was "brutally beaten" and exposed to other forms of abuse in St. Charles County by a man he called “very wealthy, powerful and influential in India," according to charging documents.
Venkatesh Reddy Sattaru, 35, and two other men were charged with trafficking for the purposes of slavery, kidnapping, abuse through forced labor and multiple other charges in connection with the investigation that started in Defiance, Missouri, Wednesday.
WARNING: The allegations in this story are disturbing.
The investigation started after a concerned citizen called to report abuse at a home on Highway D in Defiance.
Police told 5 On Your Side this concerned citizen said they saw the victim at a restaurant recently and he was in an anxious state. The concerned citizen went over and gave the victim his number. They started communicating over WhatsApp in the past few days and on Wednesday, the victim reached out saying they needed help.
That’s when the tipster alerted police. Police went over to the residence, were initially denied entry by the homeowner, but they remained in the area.
Police said they were initially unable to find the victim, but he eventually ran out of the house pleading for help from the officers.
"He has scarring, literally, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet," St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph McCulloch said in a press conference.
Police said the two other men charged in the case, 27-year-old Nikhil V. Penmatsa and 23-year-old Sravan Penumetcha, were at the home. Police separated the victim from the other people to conduct an interview.
Once he was alone with police, the victim said he was savagely beaten daily.
The victim said these beatings took place in three separate locations in Dardenne Prairie, O’Fallon and Defiance, Missouri, at residences owned by Venkatesh from April of 2023 to November of 2023.
The victim says his daily life included enduring severely limited food rations, sleep deprivation and “brutal assaults.” According to the probable cause statement, he had to complete morning and evening chores, work online for Sattaru's IT company, give Sattaru two-hour massages and was only allowed to sleep for three hours each day. At night, he was locked in an unfinished basement and forced to sleep on the concrete floor, while being watched by a video surveillance camera.
If he failed to complete any of the tasks, he would be beaten. He told police the suspects used electrical wire, PVC piping and metal rods. The victim said Sattaru administered most of the beatings himself, but also directed Penmatsa and Penumetcha to beat the victim as well.
"Sattaru would sometimes call the other two defendants in this case and have them beat [the victim] over a live feed to him so he could watch it," McCulloch said. "And if he didn't hear the victim screaming in enough pain, he would have them beat him harder."
McCulloch said the victim was related to some of the suspects in the case. He said the victim was the cousin of Sattaru. Another of the suspects was related by marriage.
"It's absolutely inhumane and unconscionable that one human being could treat another human being like this, but when you add to that the fact that these individuals were related," McCulloch said.
McCulloch said the victim remains in the hospital with broken ribs, broken bones in his arms, legs, hands and feet. They shared, the victim lost more than 30 pounds of body weight since arriving to the United States.
Detectives on the case said they are protecting the victim at this time and he was able to call his family in India Thursday morning.
The detective said, "We have resources in place and he will be kept in a safe place."
Sattaru was charged with:
- trafficking for the purpose of slavery
- contributing to human trafficking
- abuse through forced labor
- kidnapping
- domestic assault
- armed criminal action
Penmatsa was charged with
- trafficking for the purpose of slavery
- abuse through forced labor
- domestic assault
- kidnapping
- thrid-degree assault
- armed criminal action
Penumetcha was charged with
- two counts of abuse through forced labor
- domestic assault
- kidnapping
- armed criminal action
McCulloch said all three are being held without bond due to concerns that they could flee the country.