A 15-year-old girl from New Jersey, reported missing by her family, was saved from a horrifying situation where she was confined for nearly a day in a Bronx apartment and sexually assaulted multiple times by a supposed repeat offender she encountered online, authorities revealed on Thursday.
William Credle, aged 24, was apprehended late Tuesday night at his residence on Hughes Ave. near E. 187th St. in Belmont after an urgent search initiated the previous night. At the time of his capture, Credle awaited sentencing for a prior guilty plea involving an inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor in 2024. Police suspect he may have additional victims.
Having met through online communication, Credle arranged for a car service to transport the young girl from her New Jersey home to his apartment around 11:30 p.m. on Monday. According to the criminal complaint, once at the apartment, the girl reported to the Bronx Special Victims Unit detectives that Credle assaulted her repeatedly despite her protests of “no” and “stop.”
When the teen expressed her desire to return home, Credle allegedly prevented her from leaving and concealed the tablet she used as a phone. Hours later, he assaulted her once more, ignoring her pleas to stop, as she recounted to detectives, the complaint states.
During the ordeal, Credle reportedly struck the girl in the head, according to a police source familiar with the investigation.
Discovering their daughter missing from home, the girl’s parents used the GPS on her tablet to pinpoint her whereabouts in the Bronx, a police source disclosed. They promptly reported her disappearance to New Jersey authorities, who then issued an AMBER Alert. New Jersey police coordinated with the NYPD, who successfully rescued the girl from the apartment and took Credle into custody around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Credle is charged with multiple counts of rape, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment, according to the criminal complaint against him.
He pleaded not guilty at court in the Bronx on Thursday and his bail was set at $50,000 cash or $200,000 bond.
Credle, who has an extensive rap sheet — including numerous citations for domestic violence against various family members — already had a warrant out for his arrest when he was busted in the Bronx, according to a police source. He pleaded guilty to acting in a manner injurious to a child, a misdemeanor, in March 2024 after an apparently consensual sexual encounter in Manhattan with a different 15-year-old girl he had been speaking with online for a year. He was released on $10,000 bail in April to await his sentencing. At some point, however he failed to appear in court, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was facing up to one year in prison.
His next court appearance is Nov. 10 in the Bronx.
On Thursday police released Credle’s mugshot and asked any other victims of his to come forward by calling the NYPD’s Sex Crimes Hotline at 212-267-RAPE (7273).
