A TWISTED dad and his daughter allegedly kidnapped and raped a woman before leaving her for dead in a California desert, according to authorities.

Stanley Alfred Lawton, 54, and Shaniya Nicole Poche-Lawton, 22, are said to have held the woman captive for a week, before dumping her near a motorway near Los Angeles.

The woman was found by military personnel during a routine patrol early Wednesday, Los Angeles County sheriff's Captain Eduardo Hernandez said at a news conference.

Hernandez said: "It's a vicious case. It's at gunpoint by force, that victim is then transported across state lines, held in a house inside a room for at least a week."

'DISHEVELLED STATE'

It is not clear how the woman in her 40s was in the desert or why she was released.

She was left without food or water and was reportedly cold and suffering from exposure to the elements when she was found in a "dishevelled state" by military personnel.

Hernandez said she was treated at a hospital and released.

It's a vicious case

The dad-and-daughter duo are accused of kidnapping the woman by gunpoint in North Las Vegas on October 30, before taking her to Lawton's home in Palmdale, California, authorities said.

They're accused of keeping her in a room and sexually assaulting her on Sunday.

Officials said the accused knew the victim, however were unable to provide a motive for the attack.

Law enforcement sources told NBC Los Angeles that the woman was kidnapped from a business in Las Vegas and held captive in Nevada, before being put in the boot of a car, and finally taken to a location in Palmdale.

ACCUSED 'KNEW VICTIM'

The father and daughter are accused of robbing the woman at a cash machine on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, court documents say, but authorities would not say how much money was stolen.

Lawton was arrested Wednesday, and his daughter was taken into custody early the next morning.

They each face charges of kidnapping to commit a robbery, attempted murder, kidnapping from outside the state, rape and three counts of first-degree ATM robbery, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

It's at gunpoint by force, that victim is then transported across state lines, held in a house inside a room for at least a week

Lawton and Poche-Lawton were being held on bail of £3.5million and £2.7million, the district attorney's office said.

The case may be escalated to federal court because the victim was taken across state lines.

The FBI is investigating the abduction with Los Angeles County and North Las Vegas police.

Lawton is expected to make an appearance in court on Friday, while Poche-Lawton is scheduled to appear in court November 12, according to NBC Los Angeles.

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