Jul 22, 2023 at 10:25am Update: 3 minutes ago
A 13-year-old girl from the United States who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted has been saved by showing a piece of paper that says “help me.” She was trapped in a parked car and passers-by called the police.
The girl was kidnapped in the state of Texas and was only found three days after her disappearance in Long Beach, a town south of Los Angeles, more than 2,000 kilometers away.
The rescue operation took place on July 9, the US authorities report, according to the news agency AP. The police were alerted by passers-by, after which officers found a “visibly emotional and shaken girl”.
A 61-year-old Texas man has been arrested by police on suspicion of kidnapping with intent to sexually assault a minor.
Man forced girl to get into car
The girl was walking down the street in the city of San Antonio on July 6 when the man pulled out a gun and forced her to get into his car. “If you don’t get in, I’m going to hurt you,” he threatened, according to the FBI. The thirteen-year-old child was on his way to an internet cafe of sorts to chat with a friend in Australia.
When the girl was kidnapped, she told her captor about her friend in Australia. The man said he could take her on a cruise ship to Australia, but she had to pay for it. He then assaulted her several times.
In Long Beach, he parked the car in front of a laundromat, then briefly exited the vehicle. This gave the girl the opportunity to write “help me” on a piece of paper and signal to passers-by. They saw the sign and the girl, who seemed to shout “help”.
After the arrest of the 61-year-old man, it turned out that he had already been convicted twice for armed robbery. He is now held in a cell complex in Los Angeles.
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2023-07-22 08:25:43
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