Two Florida sisters say they were held against their will by their deranged adoptive parents, who were preparing for the end of times and are accused of shocking physical and sexual abuse, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
On July 12, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mirko Ceska, 58, and his wife, Regina Ceska, 55.
The arrests came two weeks after the victims, who are 22-year-old twins, reportedly escaped the family’s farm about 20 miles from Tallahassee and contacted authorities.
“The females described Mr. and Mrs. Ceska as doomsday preppers who had getaway properties located throughout the United States and food rations and weapons stored in the event of a major calamity,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.
“The females stated they had been trained to raise pigs, raise sheep, grow various fruits and vegetables, sheer sheep, utilize a loom, and sew.”
The daughters told police they were forced to have sex with Mirko Ceska or else be forced to starve.
An internet search for an incestuous video was allegedly found on Mirko Ceska’s phone, according to the sheriff’s office.
The twins also reportedly claimed they couldn’t have friends or cellphones and were prohibited by their adoptive parents from talking or shaking hands with anyone in public. Disobeying these rules meant the girls would be beaten, verbally abused and starved.
The women reportedly claimed they were forced to wake up at 5:30 a.m. each day to work on the farm.
Police found a cache of weapons — 28 guns, including 14 assault rifles — and other materials the Ceskas compiled in their quest to prepare for the end of the world.
Authorities also reportedly found a video that allegedly shows Mirko Ceska screaming at the sisters very close to their faces and accusing them of stealing food.
Attorney Don Pumphrey, who represents the couple, told the newspaper that the twins made up the allegations.
“These people are getting railroaded,” Pumphrey told the Tallahassee Democrat. “These are patently false accusations being made by the girls . . . My understanding is they’re 22 with a lot of problems.”
Authorities, however, said the evidence suggests otherwise. The women had bruises after allegedly being beaten with a metal pipe, according to the report. Their behavior also is markedly immature for their age.
“It is as if one is conversing with an 11- or 12-year-old when talking with them,” one investigator told the newspaper, adding that the twins apparently still believe Santa Claus is real.
According to the newspaper, the women said they were abused before the Ceskas adopted them about 10 years ago and hoped their lives would improve.
“We thought when we got adopted we would be free and get away from all that,” one twin said to police. “We got new names and all that stuff. We thought it was going to be OK.”
A twin reportedly told investigators the Ceskas were initially kind to them, “but then when I turned 16, my dad abused and raped me.”
The other sister told police that Mirko Ceska started raping her when she was 18, at times in front of his wife, who allegedly encouraged the abuse.
“She’s like ‘girls. It’s OK. He’s just trying to teach you,’” the woman reportedly told police.
The Ceskas contacted police and filed a missing persons report when the women vanished on July 1. Mirko told authorities the twins could not care for themselves and had the mental capacity of “14-year-old girls.”
Mirko Ceska, 58, has been charged with first-degree felony sexual assault of minors between the ages of 12 and 18 who were in his custody, in addition to sexual assault, aggravated battery and battery. He has been released on a $50,000 bail bond. Regina Ceska, 55, is charged with neglect of an adult under her care and failing to report abuse of a cognitively disabled or otherwise impaired adult; she was released without bond.
In an interview with police, the girls described how they snuck out of the farm shortly after midnight on June 28.
“It was 12:06 a.m. Our parents were asleep and the AC was on. The dog was asleep too so we thought that was perfect timing,” one of the sisters reportedly said. “God has the perfect timing for us, so we snuck down the stairs but they were squeaky. We made it downstairs and made it out of there. We’re free and it feels good.”
[Feature image: Mirko Ceska and Regina Ceska//Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office]