A 63-year-old Oklahoma man, who was accused of holding his stepdaughter captive for 19 years while he raped her and bore her nine children, was indicted by the federal jury Wednesday.

Henri Michelle Piette allegedly kidnapped Rosalynn Michelle McGinnis on Jan. 31, 1997, the intention of engaging in sexual relations with her and traveled with her to different places including Mexico, in order to avoid getting caught. In the June 2016, Piette was finally arrested from a remote village in Mexico after McGinnis managed to escape with eight of her children.

McGinnis, now 33, lives in an undisclosed location in the Midwest with her children who had to undergo treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after suffering years of abuse at the hands of Piette.

In an interview with People magazine in October, McGinnis said that it was not easy for her to reveal the truth to her children that their father was, in reality, their step-grandfather who raped her when she was a minor.

“It’s hard to describe when you’ve been through so much trauma in your life, especially when the man who did this to you is not caught,” McGinnis said adding that “You’re always looking over your shoulder thinking that he’s going to show up and take you again.”

McGinnis was first raped by Piette at the age of 11 or 12 at the back room of the residence she shared with her roommate. She was in the sixth standard when her stepfather abducted her. Piette also took her to a van and married her in a ceremony where he offered her a ring, New York Post reported.

After forcing McGinnis to become his spouse, Piette kept changing both of their names as he traveled with her all over the United States and Mexico. Once every while, he would return to Oklahoma to post letters in order to give off the impression that he had not gone out of the country.

DNA sample from Piette has been tested against samples from eight of the nine children, as McGinnis’ eldest son had run away sometime before she managed to escape last year. After she managed escape McGinnis went to the U.S. embassy in order to obtain passports her herself and her children to return to her country.

In a statement provided to the federal officials, she said that Piette had connections to the Mexican mafia when he was holding her and her children in captivity in that country.

According to online Wagoner County court records, Piette has been charged with first-degree rape of a victim under age 14, child abuse by injury and two counts of lewd molestation. If convicted, Piette could face up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

With Piette behind bars, McGinnis is finally dreaming of a brighter future. “My future seems bright — a lot brighter,” she said. “Life still is hard, but it’s not near as hard as it ever was with him.”

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