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Last updated on Friday, September 5, 2014
(SEYMOUR) - A Seymour man is facing 38 charges including rape, criminal deviate conduct and criminal confinement after police discovered he had forced his wife to sign a contract to be his slave.
32-year-old Kenneth Eugene Harden of Seymour was arrested Saturday on strangulation and domestic battery charges related to an incident at his home.
After an investigation, additional charges were filed against Harden on Wednesday.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Harden forced his wife to wear a choker collar, bound her with ropes and duct tape and tortured her as part of a "slave manual" contract he compiled.
The events leading to Harden's arrest began Saturday evening when police were called to a domestic situation at an apartment in Seymour.
When officers arrived, they found Harden on the sidewalk and his wife in the apartment.
Police say Harden's wife was upset and crying and had marks around her neck from a choker collar and burns from a cigarette on her body.
During a search of the couple's bedroom, police found a binder with the words "Slave Manual 2014" on it. It contained an 11-page manual with headlines such as "House Rules," "Punishments" and "The Slave's Role." It was signed by both Harden and his wife and dated June 4.
The woman told police she met Harden online through Craigslist and that initially he wasn't violent. They met in Brown County and moved to Seymour six months ago.
She described him as "sweet" and "godly" and said he "swept her off her feet," according to court records.
Harden later revealed to his wife that he was a sadist, and he wanted to be her "master." He also continually badgered her about signing a contract with him, saying he would leave if she didn't.
She eventually signed the contract, and Harden continued to add more punishments and chores to the manual.
On different occasions, the woman said Harden would tie her to her bed with a rope, duct tape her hands, feet and mouth and then leave her in that position for hours, causing her to urinate on herself.
He also would enforce his "bag of torture," using multiple sex toys on her, the report said.
Some of the torture included choking the woman until she "lost consciousness," snapping her with rubber bands and caused her "public humiliation" by torturing her in the nude in front of an open window at the couple's home.
Harden also abused the woman's dog and her when his two kids were around.
The woman told police she stayed with Harden because she loved him and he took care of her (the woman had diabetes and is on an insulin pump).
Harden also faces 16 counts of domestic battery and two counts of neglect of a dependent. The rape charges are the most serious, carrying penalties of three to 16 years in prison if convicted.
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