NEW YORK — The two men charged in an alleged kidnapping and torture case in SoHo have pleaded not guilty.
John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 32, facing allegations of torturing a man in a luxury Manhattan townhouse to extract his Bitcoin password, entered not guilty pleas on Wednesday before being ordered by the judge to be temporarily held without bail.
Prosecutors say they lured the victim to the townhome where they allegedly beat him and forced him to take drugs.
The victim recounted being held captive for a harrowing 17 days, during which the two suspects allegedly subjected him to barbaric treatment involving electrical wires, coerced him to use a crack pipe, and even suspended him from a fifth-floor staircase at one point.
On Friday morning, succumbing to the relentless torment, the victim finally divulged his computer password, allowing him a moment to escape the residence while his captors were occupied recovering the device. Police officers discovered him on the street, physically battered and without shoes.
A search of the townhouse turned up cocaine, a saw, chicken wire, body armor, night vision goggles, ammunition and Polaroid photos of the victim with a gun pointed to his head, according to prosecutors.
Woeltz and Duplessie face charges of kidnapping, assault and unlawful imprisonment.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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