Man charged with holding teen hostage

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Disturbing accusations are surfacing about a teenaged runaway held captive for months.

Buffalo Police have charged a man with holding a 13-year-old girl hostage for months.

But the disturbing accusations don't end there.

A neighbor said, "He's not that kinda guy."

One woman, who didn't want to be identified, says she knows Michael Abdallah, the man who lives at a house on Thomas Street in Buffalo.

She was shocked to learn that he's been charged with keeping a 13-year-old runaway girl locked in the home for months and, according to police, having sex with her repeatedly.

The neighbor told News 4 that she's seen him with several women before, but never teenaged girls.

"So he could have met her somewhere and her parents found out about it. I don't know the exact situation, but it's possible that her parents found out and were really upset and that's why he's being charged with whatever he's being charged with," she explained.

Authorities also said there was a 1-year-old boy at the house, who Michael Abdallah says is his son.

Neighbors say Abdallah's family also lives on the street, and they say his sister is Etidel Abdullah, the 21-year-old Lackawanna woman who went missing back in September of 2008.

She later contacted her family by phone to say that she was okay.

26-year-old Michael Abdallah was charged with second degree rape, unlawful imprisonment and custodial interference.

The neighbor also said, "There's probably a possibilty that she needed a place to stay or she could have lied about her age. Things like that happen all the time, but he's not that kind of person."

Buffalo Police aren't saying much about the case right now.

Michael Abdallah is currently behind bars at the Erie County Holding Center and he'll likely be in court sometime this week.