Minor found in a box in the basement of a man known on Snapchat in the US. Two more arrests on file
US police car, Photo: © Zhukovsky | Dreamstime.com
A 13-year-old girl from Louisiana, USA, who disappeared after meeting a man on the Internet, was found alive in a box in his home in Pennsylvania, along with evidence that she was sexually assaulted, according to the authorities, reports The Guardian.
Ki-Shawn Crumity, 26, was arrested Thursday and charged with human trafficking, sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a child. By Saturday, he and two other men had been detained in the investigation, in which authorities from several American states are involved.
“This child … was manipulated, exploited and then sexually abused by strangers who found her online,” said Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. “This is just one example of the dangers of social media and human trafficking,” she added.
The girl had disappeared last week
Authorities say the teenage girl at the center of the case disappeared from Louisiana last week after meeting Crumity on social media. Investigators followed her trail through several states, and finally Pittsburgh police, after receiving information from federal agents, found the little girl locked in a box covered with sheets in the basement of Crumity's home in the city's Brighton Park neighborhood.
Evidence of sexual assault was found at the scene, reported WWL Louisiana, a partner publication of The Guardian, attributing the information to official sources.
Citing a criminal complaint, Pittsburgh news outlet WTAE reported that the girl spoke in detail to investigators about what happened to her. She claims she met Crumity on the social media platform Snapchat – and that he promised her he would help her get adopted by a trusted adult.
According to the complaint, the child went to Pittsburgh on a bus, and once at Crumity's home, they slept in a bed in the basement with a third person, a woman.
The teenager says she was sexually assaulted several times
Crumity also gave the girl cannabis-infused food and sexually assaulted her repeatedly over about a week, the teenager told investigators, according to WTAE.
In the complaint, the girl mentioned that she never felt safer than in the hospital where she was taken after she was found by the authorities, WTAE notes.
Two other men were arrested in this case. Ronald Smith, 62, is accused of being with the girl in Columbus, Georgia, and has been charged with simple kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
The third man – whose name has not been released at this time – was arrested in New Orleans after he allegedly admitted to being with the girl at the bus station about 96 kilometers away in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Photo: © Zhukovsky | Dreamstime.com
