Woman found 10 years after 'kidnapping'

A US woman who was kidnapped a decade ago, sexually assaulted and forced to marry her abductor has escaped after contacting her sister on Facebook, police say.

The Santa Ana Police Department in southern California said it is holding Isidro Garcia, 41, on charges connected with the abduction.

The victim, who has not been named, was 15 when she was allegedly kidnapped by Garcia, who was her boyfriend at the time.

According to police Garcia initially imprisoned her in a garage then told her that her family had stopped looking for her and that they would be deported if she came forward.

He supplied her with false identification papers and forced her to marry him in 2007. He subjected her to sustained physical, sexual and mental abuse over the years and the two had a child in 2012, according to police.

The victim recently contacted her sister on Facebook "and eventually gained the courage to contact the police," the statement said.