A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after a missing Louisiana girl was found hidden in a box in the basement of a Pittsburgh home.
A New Orleans man has also been arrested and charged in the case.
The 13-year-old girl was reported missing earlier this month in East Baton Rouge Parish, WAFB reported. At the time of her disappearance, she was seen at the Greyhound bus station in Baton Rouge.
According to WTAE, the girl met 26-year-old Ki-Shawn Crumity on the Snapchat app, and he reportedly told her he could help her get adopted by a trusted adult. She made her way to Pittsburgh via Greyhound, and once there, a criminal complaint says, she, Crumity, and a woman slept on a bed in the basement.
For about a week, the complaint says, Crumity gave her marijuana edibles and sexually assaulted her at least once daily.
Authorities in Louisiana began tracking the girl’s movements on October 24, WBRZ reported, and on Thursday, she was rescued and Crumity arrested.
The girl was found in box covered by a sheet in the basement, authorities said.
She told officials who took her to the hospital for an evaluation that being there was the safest she had ever felt.
“Very proud of my LBI agents in helping to locate this child. She was groomed, exploited, and then sexually abused by strangers who found her online. This is just one example of the dangers of social media and of human trafficking,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement, WTAE said.
Crumity has been charged with trafficking in individuals, statutory sexual assault of a minor victim, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault and corruption of minors.
WAFB reported that 62-year-old Ronald Smith of New Orleans was arrested in Columbus, Georgia — one of the girl’s stops on her way to Pennsylvania — and charged with kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
The US Marshals Service said more arrests may be forthcoming.
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[Featured image: Ronald Smith and Ki-Shawn Crumity/police handouts]
