Survivor, former Colorado police officer detail sex trafficking in Northglenn home: "It was pure evil"

A Colorado woman, who says she was held as a "sex slave" for years in a Northglenn home, and a former police investigator involved in the case, say convicted human trafficker William Tidwell was "pure evil." They say he held as many as 20 women in his basement over the last five years, getting them to sign a 75-page contract that dictated he was the "master" and they were his "slaves."

The former police investigator said the contract "basically gave Tidwell the right to do whatever he wanted to them whenever he wanted."

One of the women held by Tidwell for more than four years said, "It was so degrading and I felt so worthless." Both the woman -- who is now 24 -- and the officer agreed to their first media interviews about the case on the condition that their real identities not be used. The investigator still works in an undercover law enforcement capacity.

He said he came to know Tidwell years ago when Northglenn police believed Tidwell was "grooming" a 14-year-old neighbor.

The investigator next heard about Tidwell in 2023 after the man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman near Nederland. When police executed a search warrant at Tidwell's home related to that Nederland case, they found an unexpected scene; three women emerged from the basement.

They were "living in an environment that seemed like they were being held captive in a way," said the investigator. "It seemed as if they had been abused in some fashion. The shock of what they were saying caused us to say, "We need to remove them from this environment right now."

One of the women in the home, who called herself "Emily" during an interview with CBS News Colorado, said she was 17 and living in a state in the south when she first encountered Tidwell in an online chat room. He was 46. She said she came from a "chaotic" childhood, was extremely vulnerable, and spent all of her time either at school or in her room, online.

"I had never been taught the dangers of the outside world or online. I almost can't believe how naive I was to the world," said Emily.

She said she began an online conversation with Tidwell that saw him gaining her trust by seeming personable and relatable.

"Getting any sort of attention or anyone relating to me felt good, and there are all sorts of people who prey on that," she said.

The grooming went on for six months, with Tidwell representing that he had been a police officer and could be trusted. Police and prosecutors say that was a ruse and that Tidwell was never in law enforcement.

Eventually, he told Emily that he was willing to "rescue" her and provide her with love, a family, and a safe environment. She and police now say it was the complete opposite.

Tidwell drove from Colorado to her home and picked her up in the middle of the night.

"I was so nervous; the most nervous I've ever been in my life," Emily said.

She told police that the day after she met Tidwell, he raped her at a gas station while they were on the road.

When they arrived in Northglenn, she said Tidwell put her in a basement room that she says was the size of a queen-sized mattress, had no natural light, and was covered in cobwebs. She said there were other rooms in the basement filled with other women.

"All the rooms were filled constantly," she said, by women who also came from rough backgrounds and were vulnerable. "He made a comment that, finding women that are broken, they're easier to get."

She said that in the years she was in the home, she estimates more than 20 women were brought into the home.

She said Tidwell presented her with a 75-page manual or contract that outlined everything from what she was supposed to wear to who she talked to to what she called him.

"We had to call him 'master' or 'sir' and he would only refer to us as his slaves," she said. "For us, it was whatever he wanted to do whenever he wanted to do it. 100% of our lives were dictated by him."

She said he manipulated the women psychologically, physically beat her badly if she didn't cooperate, and threatened to kill her family members.

"I was beaten and bloodied on almost a daily or weekly basis. You can't just walk away because if you walk out of the house or say you're going to leave, there's physical violence, threats against you and your family."

She said sex with Tidwell was a daily occurrence.

"There was really no consent. It was just saying, 'come here, this is happening, go away now.' Almost daily," she said, "but that was all up to him. All of us, one of us, all of us together. It was up to whatever he felt like."

Police documents and the investigator interviewed by CBS News Colorado corroborate Emily's story.

"I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of these girls being abused," the investigator said. "He had this mindset (that) they were his, he was allowed to sell them, give them to his friends, use them whenever he wanted."

Tidwell eventually forced the women into performing sexual acts online to make money or by acting as prostitutes. Police say they recovered numerous text messages, electronic data, and financial records that verified Tidwell forced the women into the sex trade, with him pocketing the money.

Emily says Tidwell strong-armed her into having sex for money "from a couple times a week to a few times a day. I hated it. I have never felt worse about myself. I felt so out of control and violated," she said.

After police discovered the women in Tidwell's home in August 2023, he was charged with numerous felonies stemming from trafficking and abusing women and children. In March of this year, he pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child, assault in the second degree causing serious bodily injury, human trafficking for sexual servitude, and sexual exploitation of a child possessing exploitative material depicting a child under age 12. Tidwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason said, "he preyed on vulnerable individuals, using lies, intimidation, and violence to manipulate his victims into submission. Human trafficking is real -- it happens here in Adams County and throughout Colorado."

"I sat back and cried and realized it was over," Emily said of the imprisonment of Tidwell.

"I was free. I remember sitting at the airport on the way to my grandmother's house, looking at planes taking off and crying," she said. "I was just so excited to have my freedom and my life back."

The law enforcement agent interviewed for this report suggested some tips for parents:

• Be more aware of what your kids are doing; Teach them the realities of the internet and social media.
• Pay attention to their search history and what chat rooms or forums they are in.
• For young women online, be wary of another person who portrays themselves as a guardian-like figure, or suggests they have had the same experiences and are "just like you."