A 34-year-old Gary man is being held by police after a woman told police that he beat her and forced her to have sex with multiple men in late August, police said.

The man faces preliminary charges of sexual human trafficking, criminal recklessness, criminal confinement, and battery, police said. Formal charges have not been filed in Lake County, according to court records, so the man’s name wasn’t immediately available.

On Wednesday, police were sent to a home in the 2500 block of Jefferson Street around 9:50 a.m. Earlier that morning, 911 dispatchers received a call from a 27-year-old woman in distress, who told them that she was battered by a man at the home and he broke her nose, according to a release from Gary police Cmdr. Sam Roberts.

She told the dispatcher that she was afraid of the man, so she was making the call from the kitchen while he was in the bedroom. She requested that police not be notified as it would escalate the situation and make things worse, the release states.

Gary EMS and police were notified by the dispatchers. When police arrived, they tried to make contact with the woman, but an angry man behind a closed door told them to go away. Police asked to talk to the woman who had called, but the man said no such person lived there, the release states. They heard a woman’s voice say that she did not call the police and only wanted medical attention.

Police told the man that they wouldn’t leave until the woman was seen by paramedics. Police went back and forth with the suspect for several minutes before the woman came from the back of the house and was treated by paramedics, according to the release.

While she was being treated, the woman told officers that she had come to the home three months ago with a group of girls, but the homeowner would not allow her to leave, holding her against her will, beating her and forcing her to have sex with different men.

The victim was then taken to the hospital for treatment, police said.

Officers contacted the Gary Police Department Family Crimes Division Detective Olivia Vasquez.

Based on the information she was given, Vasquez was able to get an arrest warrant for the subject and a search warrant for the home, the release states.

Gary SWAT was notified, executed the warrant, and arrested the man.

Police also recovered drugs in the home.

If you have any information about Human Trafficking call 219-881-1252 or 219-881-1210.