Pennsylvania Family Kept Woman as Their "Slave" for Six Months

By Erin Peterson

Five members of a Pennsylvania family have been placed under arrest and charged with kidnapping and making terroristic threats. Emily Nicely, 19, accused the family of beating her with broom handles, metal pipes, and boards while she was forced to do their housework. Nicely also told police that the family referred to her as their "slave."

Nicely voluntarily went to live with Mark Pollard, 43, and his family in Greensburg, PA during the summer but was forced to stay with them since September. Nicely told police investigators that her family moved out of Greensburg so she stayed with the Pollards in order to finish high school in her current district. However, school district officials say that she was last enrolled during the 2004-2005 school year. Police are investigating this discrepancy.

Pollard, his wife Cynthia, 41, sons Mark Jr., 18, and Jonathan, 17, and daughter Tabitha, 16, were all arrested. Jonathan and Tabitha were charged as adults but released on bond and sent to stay with relatives. The other three accused remain in jail. No pleas have been made but the family members deny any misconduct.

Police were alerted to a possible abuse situation on March 10 by a man who receives his newspaper from the Pollard’s delivery route. He noticed that Nicely was badly bruised. Nelson Williams, 66, and his caretaker brought the woman into their home after seeing her injuries. Williams told the press, "Her face, it looked like a baseball bat hit her."

Shortly after taking her in, Cynthia Pollard came and demanded that Williams let Nicely leave. She claimed that Nicely had mental health issues and that her injuries were self-inflicted. "Ain’t nobody do that to herself in the face," claimed Williams.

Police took Nicely to a hospital where they discovered bruises all over her body and also found that she had suffered a concussion. "She had injuries on every part of her body," said Greensburg police Capt. George Seranko. He said that Nicely’s injuries lead them to believe her story.

Nicely’s complaint claims that the Pollards would punish her by making her stand in a corner, with her hands on her head, or with weights, often for hours. The police report also says that "on numerous occasions, the Pollard family would punch the victim with a closed fist, kick, and strike the victim with any of several objects including boots, broom handles, a metal pipe, wooden door slats, belts, boards, and other objects. The Pollard family referred to her as their 'slave.'"

After hearing the formal complaint, Cynthia Pollard spoke to television reporters and told them that Nicely is "a liar." She does confirm Nicely was forced to stand in a corner and that there were also "numerous physical confrontations with Ms. Nicely but that it was always in self-defense" according to the police affidavit.

Neighbors corroborate Nicely’s story by telling police and reporters that they often heard fighting coming from the home. Police had been called in several instances.

Nicely is currently living with her mother in another county.