Pictured above: Sarah Block and her daughter, 15 year-old Jasmine Block. Moments before this picture was taken, the mother and daughter reunited for the first time in nearly a month, after Jasmine bravely escaped from being held captive by Thomas Barker (bottom left), Joshua Holby (center), and Steven Powers (bottom right).
Jasmine was kidnapped by Thomas Barker (32) on the evening of August 8th, 2017. Thomas was considered to be a family friend to the Block family, so Jasmine was initially not worried when he approached their Alexandria, Minnesota home that evening. Thomas said he was there because he wanted Jasmine to help him with his misbehaving son. Jasmine agreed, and got into his car with him. She expected Thomas to take her to a nearby home in Alexandria, but instead, he took her to a remote property in the town of Carlos, where he had a mobile home.
Once there, Jasmine’s nightmare began. Thomas reportedly overpowered her and bound her with zip ties. Then, he threatened her with a gun and proceeded to sexually assault her. When he was done, Thomas locked Jasmine inside of a closet. She reportedly spent most of her captivity inside said closet, and was only occasionally given water and fast food. A week into her captivity, Thomas was joined by Joshua Holby and Steven Powers. All three men beat her and assaulted her. While Joshua reportedly did not sexually assault her, he also made no attempt to free her or call the police. Additionally, all three men unsuccessfully tried to kill her—first by trying to drown her in a bathtub, and then again by trying to hang her while she was tied by the neck to rafters. At one point, police showed up at the mobile home to investigate a stolen property report. All 3 men were inside the home at this point, and Jasmine was locked inside the closet. Nobody answered the door when the police officer knocked on the door, and he eventually left.
After the visit from the police officer, the trio decided that it was too risky to keep Jasmine at the mobile home. They decided to stuff her into a duffel bag and put her in the back of a truck to transport her elsewhere. She was brought to many different locations, including several remote corn fields, before the trio settled on an abandoned home where they set up camp. Then, one afternoon, Jasmine was left alone for the first time since she was taken captive. The three men decided to go into a nearby town for lunch, while Jasmine was left at home. She was able to escape from her restraints and flee from the house. Jasmine ran towards Thompson Lake, where she spotted a cluster of houses on the other side. She shed her pants and shoes to reduce weight, and then dove into the lake and swam towards the houses. Once ashore, Jasmine began to sprint. She was spotted by a farmer shortly thereafter, who recognized her from coverage on the news. The farmer brought Jasmine into his pick-up truck and called 911. As the police arrived, Jasmine spotted the car her captors were in driving past them. She told officers that those were the men who had held her captive. A deputy chased the car down, and Steven Powers was immediately taken into custody. Thomas and Joshua were arrested shortly thereafter.
All three men ended up pleading guilty, but none have been sentenced yet. Thomas pleaded guilty in July 2018 to kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct in the first degree with a dangerous weapon, and criminal sexual conduct in the first degree causing fear of great bodily harm. He is expected to receive 25 years in prison. Joshua pleaded guilty in September 2018 to two counts of kidnapping. He is expected to to be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison. Steven pleaded guilty in November 2018 to criminal sexual conduct in the second degree and kidnapping. All are currently behind bars as they await sentencing.
