WATERTOWN, N.Y. — A Rome teenager is in custody in upstate New York after being accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old girl there.
According to the Watertown, New York Police Department, 18-year-old Keller Singleton began talking to the victim on Snapchat and agreed to come to New York to help her run away.
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They began investigating the girl’s disappearance as a kidnapping.
Investigators say Singleton’s plan was to bring the girl back to his Rome home for “sexual purposes.”
Police say they found the girl more than 700 miles away in Marion, Virginia, where Singleton had left her.
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The Virginia State Police found him and arrested him a short distance away in Chilhowie, Virginia.
He was extradited to Watertown, New York where he is being held in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility.
“We strongly encourage parents to monitor their children’s online activity and social media usage for the potential harm that can be caused by people the children may encounter on the internet with harmful intent,” the police department wrote.
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