An Excelsior Springs man accused of abducting and sexually torturing a 22-year-old woman while holding her imprisoned in the basement of her home pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges Friday morning.
Timothy M. Haslett, 40, was arraigned in Clay County Circuit Court after his grand jury indictment was announced Tuesday. He is charged with rape in the first degree, four counts of sodomy in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree and endangering a child’s welfare.
During Friday morning’s hearing, a formal reading of the charges against Haslett was withdrawn and a not guilty plea was entered in response to the nine felony charges.
Haslett has been in custody since October, when a young woman – barely clad and with a metal collar around her neck – went to a neighbor of Haslett’s for help. She later told police that for weeks she had been held in a small room that her kidnapper – known to her only as “Timothy” – apparently built in her basement.
Prosecutors initially charged Haslett – held in the Clay County Jail since early October – with one count of rape, one count of first-degree kidnapping and one count of second-degree assault. The grand jury indictment returned Tuesday replaced the indictments filed in October.
Haslett’s bond is now pegged at $3 million.
Clay County Attorney Zachary Thompson announced new charges against Haslett during a news conference Tuesday, saying more than 1,200 hours have been spent investigating Haslett as more than a dozen agencies, including the FBI and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Excelsior Police Spring assisted.
