Polish man accused of holding woman captive in barn for four years and repeatedly abusing her

A 35-year-old Polish man, identified as Mateusz J., is suspected of holding a 30-year-old woman captive for four years in a dark barn near Glogow, in western Poland, where she alleges he repeatedly raped and abused her.

The two met through an online dating page, and in 2019 the woman travelled to the suspect's village. Prosecutors say the barn had no electricity, running water, toilet facilities or basic means of hygiene, and that she was kept there for years under constant control.

Birth, hospital visits and the eventual report

According to the victim's account, she gave birth in the nearby town of Nowa Sol; the suspect then forced her to give the child up for adoption. During the captivity she was repeatedly hospitalised for dislocations and other injuries. On one of her later hospital visits she managed to tell medical staff what had happened, and they alerted the police.

"I couldn't tell the doctors the truth. I was afraid, and he threatened me that it would be even worse if I complained," the woman said.

Mateusz J. was arrested in August 2024 and charged with offences that under Polish law carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Authorities say complex psychiatric and forensic examinations are usual in cases of prolonged unlawful detention, rape with extreme cruelty and physical torture, and the suspect has been placed in strict pre-trial custody.

Neighbours reportedly did not suspect anything was wrong at the property. Commentators have compared the case to the crimes of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian who imprisoned and abused his daughter for decades.

Photo: press material from the event