William Duplessie and John Woeltz Plead Not Guilty to Kidnapping, Assault

Prosecutors argue the man was clearly in distress because he ran barefoot and bloodied to the nearest police officer after escaping 17 days in captivity.

Two men accused of holding a cryptocurrency executive captive in a SoHo townhouse for 17 days last month were ordered held in custody Thursday despite defense attorneys’ claims that the accuser was engaging in consensual acts and could have left at any time.

William Duplessie, 32, and John Woeltz, 37, pleaded not guilty and were ordered to return to court July 15. They are charged with kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon and face up to life in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors said the two men, who have known the 28-year-old Italian national for years, lured him to the townhouse by threatening to kill his family.

The man said the two investors tortured him with electrical wires, forced him to smoke from a crack pipe and at one point dangled him from a staircase five stories high. He eventually managed to flee as his captors went to retrieve his computer password.

In other photos, Talkin said, the accuser is seen visiting an eyeglass store with one of the defendants and could have fled or sought help at any time.

“The story that he is selling doesn’t make sense,” Talkin said in Manhattan criminal court as the defendants were formally arraigned.

Woeltz’s lawyer, Wayne Gosnell, added that witnesses told him the accuser came and went as he pleased from the upscale townhouse — going to church, clubs and dinners.

Police searching the townhouse found evidence corroborating his story, including a loaded pistol, chain saw and other instruments purportedly used to torture him. They also located photographs, including one where the defendants point a gun to the accuser’s head, another where the accuser is tied to a wheelchair, and still another showing the accuser being set on fire.

When prodded by the judge, Khan explained that the man didn’t actually sustain any burn injuries because the defendants would quickly douse the flames, sometimes by urinating on him.

What’s more, she said, prosecutors believe this is not the first time the defendants have held a person against their will. They are aware of two other potential victims in two other locations, according to Khan.

Lawyers for the two men, meanwhile, sought their release on $1 million bail and home confinement with their parents. They rejected suggestions from prosecutors that their clients could flee the country.

“He’s so far from a flight risk here. He’s ready to fight this case. He’s not going to anywhere,” Talkin said of Duplessie.

The two appeared handcuffed in prison uniforms and didn’t speak in court other than to formally enter their pleas.