The victim who accused Houston rapper Cartel Bo of kidnapping and assaulting her has taken back her accusation, according to the rapper’s defense team. However, prosecutors claim she was pressured.
The woman claimed rapper Cartel Bo, real name Warren Brown, sexually assaulted and locked her in a closet for days. Prosecutors argue that the woman, who shares a child with Brown, recanted under duress. The presiding judge is deciding whether to allow Brown to post Bond, after prosecutors successfully moved to deny the rapper bond last week.
According to KPRC, during Brown’s scheduled bond hearing on Monday, prosecutors revealed photos of bruises covering the woman’s legs, claiming they stemmed from physical abuse at the hands of Brown. Brown’s defense attorney, Samuel Milledge II, argued the bruises were caused by work as an exotic dancer and rough sex.
Brown’s defense team is using the recantation as evidence that the accusations were false to begin with, and as leverage so that the judge will set a bond for Warren. They argue that the state has not proven he is a danger to the victim or community, despite a long rap sheet of charges and prior allegations of abuse of the same victim.
The defense team, which also includes activists Quannel X and Candace Matthews, claimed after the bond hearing that law enforcement has an “axe to grind against brown” beyond just this case, further claiming officers forced the victim to make false claims despite her objections.
Prosecutors argued that if Brown is released on bond, the victim would be in further danger. They also claimed the victim’s recanting was a direct result of pressure from Brown.
On Monday, the prosecution claimed Brown made phone calls from jail to the victim using the credentials of another prisoner. He asked her to sign an affidavit of non-prosecution and record a video statement denying all of her allegations. The recorded calls were not played in court. Prosecutors also noted that the victim is financially dependent on Brown and highlighted a history of domestic abuse.
Brown’s defense team alleged that law enforcement had pressured the victim to make the claims, and that she told the defense she was under the influence when she made the claims.
Brown is charged with kidnapping the mother of his children and imprisoning her for several days in July inside a closet at a house on Darby Retreat Lane in Cypress. Harris County Constable Precinct 4 investigators say she managed to get away while wearing just handcuffs and her underwear after flagging down a neighbor. According to court records, escaped from the home only after realizing he was gone. She was later taken to the hospital by EMS after being found at a nearby Waffle House.
Investigators also say she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Brown while kidnapped.
Brown was arrested during a traffic stop on July 25 on outstanding warrants from his alleged assault of the same woman in June.
According to court documents, investigators discovered rotten food and a mattress saturated in urine inside the house, among other things that they claim showed someone had been detained against their will or with force.
The next hearing for Brown’s case is scheduled for August 5.