Louisiana authorities say three people have been arrested and charged for allegedly keeping a transgender woman as a slave and forcing her to perform sexual acts — among other things against her will — for several months.

The victim was held captive as a sex slave, tortured, and forced to perform menial tasks at a trailer residence located in the rural, unincorporated community of Ajax, La., in Natchitoches Parish, authorities said when announcing the arrests. Police are calling it the most "severe and disturbing" case of human trafficking they have ever investigated, according to Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Victor Jones Jr.

"In 30-something years of law enforcement in this area, this is probably one of the most gruesome deals that I've ever heard of, and I never experienced anything like it before," Jones told reporters at a briefing, according to The Town Talk. "I always say, by the time you think you've seen it all, something else comes along and takes place."

After an "intense" investigation involving multiple agencies in the state, authorities have identified three suspects — a couple, David Rodriguez Jr., 37, and Christina Marie Harper, 39; and Ambre Tubbs Lomas, 39 — who were arrested June 4 after turning themselves in to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office.

The victim, who authorities have identified only as an out-of-state transgender woman in her fifties, apparently fled the residence May 31 in her captors' vehicle and came into contact with a town marshall at a business near Interstate 49 and University Parkway in Natchitoches around 11:11 p.m. — a logging chain hanging attached to her neck.

She frantically told police she had been held against her will and forced to into sexual acts and labor and was taken to a nearby hospital after police discovered bruises and lacerations on her body. Natchitoches firefighters had to remove the chain and the victim was treated before being taken into protective custody.

In the following days, investigators discovered grim and disturbing details in the case.