A U.S. Marine on active duty was apprehended this week following allegations that he journeyed from North Carolina to Indiana with the intent to “meet, kidnap, and sexually assault” a 12-year-old girl, as reported by the FBI.

William Richard Roy, aged 24 and stationed at Camp Lejeune, was arrested by the FBI in Durham, North Carolina, on October 26, according to information released by the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office.

According to the bureau, the inquiry began on October 25 after the FBI Indianapolis Field Office’s Merrillville Resident Agency was alerted by the Hammond Police Department about a missing 12-year-old girl who was believed to be traveling with Roy. The child’s grandmother had reported her disappearance earlier that day.

“Thanks to the joint efforts of the FBI, Hammond Police Department, and U.S. Marshals Service, it was discovered that Roy allegedly flew to Chicago on October 24, 2025. The next day, he reportedly took an Uber to Hammond, where he met the young girl in a park,” the FBI stated. “Subsequently, the pair traveled back to Chicago via Uber, spent the night at a hotel, and then boarded a Greyhound bus headed for Durham, North Carolina.”

The entrance to Camp Lejeune Marine Base is pictured near Jacksonville, N.C., where William Richard Roy was reported arrested this week, according to the FBI. (Allen G. Breed/AP; Durham County Sheriff’s Office)

“Upon the bus’s arrival in Durham on October 26, agents from the FBI Charlotte Field Office’s Greensboro and Raleigh Resident Agencies detained Roy and safely recovered the child,” the FBI further mentioned.

An FBI Indianapolis spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday that Roy claimed he met the child on TikTok.

An American flag is pictured at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. (Fred Marie/Art In All Of Us/Corbis via Getty Images)

Roy is now facing federal charges of enticement of a minor to travel for illicit sexual activity, transportation of a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity, interstate travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor.

William Richard Roy is an active-duty U.S. Marine, according to the FBI. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

The Marines did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.