A Pennsylvania man has been taken into custody after authorities discovered a missing girl from Louisiana concealed inside a box in the basement of a Pittsburgh residence.
Alongside him, a man from New Orleans faces charges related to the incident.
The 13-year-old girl disappeared earlier this month from East Baton Rouge Parish, as reported by WAFB. Her last known location before vanishing was the Greyhound bus station in Baton Rouge.
According to reports from WTAE, the teenager had connected with 26-year-old Ki-Shawn Crumity via the Snapchat app. Crumity allegedly promised to help her find a trustworthy adult for adoption. The girl traveled to Pittsburgh using a Greyhound bus, where a criminal complaint states that she, Crumity, and another woman shared a bed in the basement.
Throughout that week, the complaint reveals, Crumity allegedly gave her marijuana edibles and sexually assaulted her daily.
On October 24, Louisiana authorities started tracking her movements, reported WBRZ. The girl was rescued, and Crumity was apprehended on Thursday.
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.
