Justin Newman was arrested and charged after the girl, who had previously been reported missing, was found at his Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., home
Credit: Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office
NEED TO KNOW
- A man has been charged with kidnapping and statutory rape after authorities alleged he transported a teenager he met on a dating app from Connecticut to his home in North Carolina
- Justin Newman, 51, was arrested after a 15-year-old girl, who had previously been reported missing, was found at his Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., home
- Investigators learned that after meeting the girl on an app, Newman ordered a car from a ride-share service to drive her to a train station, where she boarded a train to North Carolina
A man has been charged with kidnapping and statutory rape after authorities alleged he transported a teenager he met on a dating app from Connecticut to his home in North Carolina.
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office said on Tuesday, April 28, that 51-year-old Justin Newman was arrested after a 15-year-old girl, who had previously been reported missing, was found at his Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., home.
Police in Middletown, Conn., said that the girl was first reported missing on April 9, per WECT, WTNH and NBC Connecticut.
Detectives from the Special Victims Unit eventually learned that Newman had ordered a car from a ride-share service to drive the girl from Middletown to a train station, where she boarded a train to North Carolina, the outlets reported.
Newman had met the girl three months earlier on an app called Skout, which allows users to meet people from around the world through livestreams and chats, prosecutors said during Newman's first court appearance.
Credit: Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office
Middletown police later reached out to the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office to ask for assistance in locating the girl, whose identity has not been made public, the outlets reported.
Prosecutors said the department gave the sheriff’s office a location and description, and deputies located the girl with Newman at his home on Monday, April 27.
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Newman was subsequently charged with first-degree kidnapping and statutory rape of a child under the age of 15. WTNH reported that additional charges were filed on April 28, including two more counts of statutory rape of a child and two counts of sexual offense against a child.
Newman is being held at the Brunswick County Detention Center. He is being held under no bond, WECT reported, and his next appearance in court is set for May 14.
"This remains an active and ongoing investigation," the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office said. "Additional charges may be filed as the investigation progresses."
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