LINCOLN COUNTY, Ky. (TCD) — A 34-year-old man was arrested this week after deputies located a missing 16-year-old girl from North Carolina who was reportedly hidden inside a trap door in the suspect’s home.
According to WNCN-TV, on Dec. 25, Zackary Jones’ mother called the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to report a fight between Jones and his “girlfriend.” Deputies went to the home in Kings Mountain and were met by Jones and his mother, but the girlfriend was nowhere to be found. During the search, deputies spotted cocaine that Jones allegedly threw in a wood stove in an attempt to get rid of the drugs.
WLEX-TV reports deputies put Jones in the squad car and continued to look for the victim. They eventually located her in a trap door hidden under a rug in his bedroom and rescued her. Lincoln County deputies reportedly noted the teen was “very high.”
WTVD-TV, which cites the arrest citation, reports Jones allegedly confessed to having sex with the teen and getting high off crack cocaine and marijuana with her. The victim reportedly said he choked her during some of their sexual encounters. Jones reportedly denied the allegations even though deputies reportedly noticed marks on her neck.
According to WNCN, Jones and the victim reportedly met on Facebook, where they struck up an online relationship. Jones, however, allegedly told the teen he was 19 years old.
Jones picked up the teen from her grandmother’s home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and drove her back to his residence in Kentucky. The teen was reported missing to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 8. When they met, the victim reportedly made a comment that Jones looked older than 19, and he purportedly said he was 25. Then, when they got to Kentucky, she reportedly learned of Jones’ real age.
The two had been communicating for about two to three weeks before he took her to Kentucky.
WTVD reports Jones allegedly told the victim she to lie and pretend she was 18 years old. During their time together, he reportedly threatened to shoot her on several occasions. He also allegedly threatened to kill a sheriff’s deputy when he got pulled over for a traffic violation.
Jones’ mother told WRAL-TV she’s the one who called 911 because Jones and the victim were “arguing, yelling, and screaming,” which she said was the “hardest thing I had to do.”
Jones allegedly told his mother the victim was 19, and she “took that as the truth.”
According to WRAL, Jones allegedly said there were at least 10 times when he got the victim high and had sex.
Pulaski County Jail records show Jones is being held on multiple charges, including rape, sodomy, strangulation, and more. He is being held without bond.
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