A 37 -year -old cryptocurrency investor appeared in court on Saturday after being arrested for the abduction and torture of an Italian tourist at a home in Manhattan, according to media reports, according to the BBC.

John Woeltz was taken to the New York Criminal Court at 9:00 EST (14:00 BST) on charges of abduction with the intention of collecting ransom, attack, illegal imprisonment and other charges, according to judicial records.

A second person, 24 -year -old Beatrice Folkie, was arrested on Saturday in relation to the case, according to CBS News, a BBC partner in the US.

The couple was arrested after the victim managed to escape a house in Soho, where they were allegedly tortured and stopped for weeks, police said.

The 28 -year -old victim, whose name has not been made public, was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, according to police. The police found several Polaroid photos showing the victim being tied and tortured, as well as firearms, in the luxury maisonette.

The victim told the police that he came to New York from Italy on May 6 and that when he arrived at the suspect’s house, Mr Woeltz took his passport and allegedly kept him captive until he escaped on Friday morning.

According to a criminal complaint received by ABC News, the victim told police that Mr Woeltz and another person beaten him and hung him from a windowsill when he refused to give his password to Bitcoin.

Mr Woeltz is a Centucky cryptocurrency investor and rents the house in Soho for $ 30,000 (£ 22,000) and $ 40,000 a month, according to CBS News.