The property where the victim was found (L), pictured via 11 Alive screengrab, (R) Jorge Camacho pictured in a Davidson County Sheriff’s Office mugshot
A 34-year-old man groomed a 13-year-old girl online, drove all the way to the Dallas, Texas area, kidnapped the victim, raped her, and brought her to a North Carolina property where he locked her in a shed, authorities say.
Jorge Ivan Santos Camacho, 34, faces five felony charges in North Carolina as of Tuesday morning, but authorities noted additional charges are pending. Though the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office did not specify what those charges might be or where they might be filed, the FBI was involved in the investigation and the alleged crimes did cross state lines — raising the distinct possibility that a federal case is also in the offing.
Investigators in North Carolina said that the FBI contacted them last Friday in reference to the case.
“On Friday, March 10th at approximately 6:00 pm, Davidson County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a Special Agent with the Texas FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force in reference to a missing 13-year-old female. Dallas Police Department was investigating a missing juvenile and with the FBI’s assistance, they were able to discover that the juvenile had been communicating with an adult male through a social media chat platform,” the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office said. “The content of the chat was consistent with grooming and enticement.”
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It’s alleged that Camacho was caught on video outside the victim’s home in a car registered to the Lexington, N.C., property where he allegedly locked the victim in a shed.
“The registered owner and adult male, identified in the investigation was found to be a resident of Davidson County. Investigators with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of Agents from the FBI Greensboro Field Office located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop on the registered owner leaving the registered address,” authorities said. “During the traffic stop, it was determined that the juvenile was locked in an outbuilding on the property at 10438 Linwood Southmont Rd., Lexington NC.”
With Camacho’s arrest, deputies were able to rescue the girl. They said she didn’t appear to be physically injured, but the victim was taken to a North Carolina hospital to be evaluated before being returned safely to her home in Texas.
The defendant, authorities said, was interviewed. Investigators did not specify what took place during that interview, but multiple sex crime charges soon followed.
At this time, Camacho is charged with abducting a child, felonious restraint, human trafficking, two counts of statutory rape of a child under the age of 15, two counts of statutory sex offense against a child under the age 15, and indecent liberties. All of those are felony offenses.
WFAA reportedly interviewed the girl’s mother and discovered that the victim and suspect communicated for months online while playing a video game and chatting on Discord.
Records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Camacho was held on a $1.25 million bond in Davidson County. The suspect was booked at 1:21 a.m. on Saturday, March 11.
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