SALEM MAN ARRESTED ON KIDNAPPING CHARGES

A Salem man is facing kidnapping charges after authorities said he had
forced a woman to leave her home in Mexico to work on his
marijuana-growing operation under watch of armed guards.

According to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Portland,
the woman was eventually beaten, stabbed and sexually assaulted, as
well as told that her family in Mexico would be killed, and forced to
watch violent acts committed against other women and children.

Ramon Lopez-Montanez, 39, a Mexican citizen who through marriage is
legally allowed to work in the United States, was arrested Tuesday at
his Salem home, said Johnathan Haub, a federal prosecutor. He had been
growing more than 100 marijuana plants at operations in Salem and in
Otis, according to the indictment.

The victim is living in an undisclosed location in the Northwest under
a federal witness protection program, Haub said.