A teenager who was found after going missing for eight years has finally spoken out about the relationship with his mother and the hoax around his disappearance.
Rudy Farias had been reported missing at the age of 17 in 2015 described that his mother, Janie Santana, would manipulate and brainwash him, making him believe he would get in trouble if he didn't comply with her orders.
He explained that he was not physically restrained but felt mentally trapped. The now-25-year-old was found unconscious outside a church with cuts and bruises on his body earlier this month.
Police later revealed that he had returned to his home in Houston, Texas just one day after going missing eight years ago, but he and his mother deceived investigators during all this time by providing false details to authorities.
Allegations were also made that his mother sexually abused him, forcing him to pretend he was her husband. However, Rudy denied these claims and his mother has not been charged as of yet.
Rudy said he considers himself a victim and expressed a desire to live a normal life away from his mother. He stated that he felt dependent on her, as she was his only family and the only person he trusted.
"She never locked me in or handcuffed me or anything like that," Rudy told ABC News. "I had free will to leave. It just felt like brainwashing me. It just kept confusing me, the way she would manipulate me into saying, 'You're going to get arrested.'"
"She locked me in there pretty much, mentally," Rudy said. "She was my only parent, the only person I really ever had besides my brother. When I lost my brother, I didn't have anyone to teach me how to live, or to have confidence or trust in myself. So I depended on my mom all my life."
Rudy's father, a police officer, had died by suicide in 2014, and his half-brother, who acted as a father figure, died in an accident in 2011.
"After he passed away, I wasn't able to love myself for anything anymore," Rudy said. "I wasn't able to have someone like a father figure. You know, he was my brother, but I never had a dad."
He described feeling isolated and imprisoned during those eight years, rarely leaving home except to work with his mother. He mentioned a strained relationship with boundaries being crossed but denied being sexually assaulted, despite the allegations.
Houston activist Quanell X previously claimed that Rudy confessed to him that he was a victim of sexual abuse by his mother.
When asked about it, Rudy said: "I used to have to sleep in her bed sometimes. Boundaries she would push or make me uncomfortable, and I would say 'Stop,' and she would say, 'Why? Why? Why? I didn't do anything wrong.'"
