Police were searching for a Colton woman and her husband Saturday after arrest warrants were issued charging them with rape, torture and several other felonies involving their mildly retarded daughter.

The abuse was said to have occurred over several years, authorities said.

Arrest warrants were issued Friday for stepfather Tito Dominguez, 56, and Maria Carmen Salcedo, 41, after charges were filed on behalf of 19-year-old Melissa.

Prosecutors charged Dominguez with five counts of rape, two counts of oral copulation, felony child endangerment and conspiracy to commit child endangerment. He faces a maximum sentence of 60 years.

Salcedo, of Colton, was charged with torture, felony child endangerment, conspiracy to commit child endangerment and witness intimidation -- crimes that could lead to a life sentence. Salcedo remained at large Saturday night, but Colton police were trying to confirm an address where she might be, said Sgt. Steve Glass. Colton police are working closely with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, he added. Police believe Salcedo may also have family in Rialto.

Authorities will seek to extradite Dominguez from Texas, where he is believed to be living.

The charges follow a recent Los Angeles Times article detailing accusations that Dominguez and Salcedo kept Melissa in slave-live conditions for years by never enrolling her in school, forcing her to perform household chores and making her drink from the toilet and endure persistent beatings. She was also denied medical and dental attention.

"They did wrong to me and they'll now pay for it," Melissa said after learning that her stepfather and mother were being charged.

Prosecutors filed the charges at the request of El Monte police after extensive interviews with Melissa in recent weeks.

Two years ago, Melissa's older half-sister Gloria and another half sister -- both of whom had left the family home -- went to El Monte police with allegations that Dominguez sexually abused them as children.

Police arrested Dominguez in April 1997, and the same day social workers seized Melissa and seven other children living in the home.

However, Dominguez was released and left the state after prosecutors determined that they had insufficient evidence.

Melissa now lives with her older half-sister and attends school in Alhambra. The sisters' last name, which is different from their parents, was not released because they are victims of sexual abuse.

Published 8/15/1999