A 13-year-old girl from Louisiana who went missing after meeting a man online has been found alive in a box in a basement in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Police have charged Ki-Shawn Crumity, 26, with human trafficking, sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a child.
The teenager, from Baker, Louisiana, disappeared around 20 October after meeting Crumity on the social media platform Snapchat. Investigators tracked her across several states before Pittsburgh police, acting on a tip from federal agents, discovered her trapped in a sheet-covered box in Crumity's basement in the Brighton Heights neighbourhood on Thursday.
The girl was taken to hospital, where evidence of sexual assault was found, according to WWL Louisiana, a Guardian news-gathering partner. She told investigators that Crumity had promised to help her get adopted by a trusted adult, and that she travelled to Pittsburgh by Greyhound bus. Once there, she said, Crumity gave her cannabis-infused edibles and sexually assaulted her repeatedly over about a week.
Louisiana's attorney general, Liz Murrill, said: 'This child … 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.' Crumity was denied bail after being booked into Pittsburgh's jail.
Two other men have been arrested in connection with the case. Ronald Smith, 62, was taken into custody in Columbus, Georgia, accused of simple kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Alvin Hanson, 64, was arrested in New Orleans on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Investigators said they expect further arrests, noting that a man and a woman from the Washington DC area were in Crumity's basement when the girl was rescued.
