A 13-year-old girl who had disappeared after meeting a man online was discovered alive concealed in a box inside his residence, where signs of sexual assault were found, as per officials.
Ki-Shawn Crumity, aged 26, was arrested in Pittsburgh, US, on Thursday and is facing charges of human trafficking, sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of a child. The teenager, a resident of Baker, Louisiana, had gone missing on October 20th after connecting with Crumity through social media.
Reports from The Guardian indicate that he is one of several men apprehended in a multi-agency investigation across state boundaries. Louisiana’s attorney general, Liz Murrill, emphasized the dangers of social media and human trafficking, stating that the child was groomed, exploited, and sexually abused by strangers online.
Following information from federal agents, law enforcement found the girl confined in a box covered with a sheet in Crumity’s basement, far from her own home by over 1,000 miles. She was promptly taken to the hospital, where evidence of sexual assault was documented, according to local news source WTAE.
Based on a criminal complaint, the girl revealed to investigators that she had connected with Crumity on Snapchat, who had promised to help her find a trusted adult for adoption. She detailed traveling to Pittsburgh via Greyhound bus and recounted staying in a basement bed with Crumity and another woman.
The girl disclosed that Crumity provided her with edibles containing cannabis and sexually assaulted her repeatedly over about a week. She mentioned feeling safest at the hospital and alleged that Crumity acknowledged her as a runaway. Crumity reportedly admitted to having sexual relations with the victim, as per PEOPLE.
Local officials stated in a press release that the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Special Victims Unit acted on a report from the United States Marshals regarding the juvenile female victim’s presence at an address in Pittsburgh.
Another individual, Ronald Smith, aged 62, was also arrested in connection with the girl’s disappearance. Smith, along with Alvin Hanson, was accused of transporting her from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Georgia before sending her northward on a bus.
Smith faces charges of simple kidnapping and contributing to juvenile delinquency, while Hanson, aged 64, was arrested for contributing to juvenile delinquency, as stated by Brian Fair of the US Marshals Service.
Investigators have hinted at further arrests in the ongoing case, with reports from Louisiana news station WAFB mentioning a man and a woman from the Washington DC area being present in Crumity’s basement during the girl’s rescue.