Marine kidnaps 12-year-old and boards bus with her to North Carolina, FBI says
An active duty U.S. Marine kidnapped a 12-year-old girl from Indiana to sexually assault her, then rode a bus with her to North Carolina, where he was arrested, the FBI said.
FBI agents took William Richard Roy, 24, into custody and rescued the girl once the bus arrived in Durham on Oct. 26, the agency’s Indianapolis office said in an Oct. 30 news release.
A criminal complaint charges Roy, who is stationed at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, with:
- 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
An attorney was not listed for Roy in court records the afternoon of Oct. 31.
The 12-year-old’s grandmother reported her missing on Oct. 25, when police in Hammond, Indiana, alerted the FBI about her disappearance, the agency said. Hammond about a 30-mile drive south from Chicago.
Investigators learned Roy flew to Chicago a day earlier, on Oct. 24, then took an Uber to Hammond on Oct. 25, according to the FBI.
Roy met the girl at a local park in Hammond, got an Uber and took her to Chicago, where they stayed at a hotel overnight, the FBI said.
On Oct. 26, Roy boarded a Greyhound bus with the girl and headed to Durham, according to the agency.
FBI agents with the Charlotte Field Office’s Greensboro and Raleigh agencies arrested Roy and “safely recovered the child,” the FBI said.
The FBI is continuing to investigate the abduction.
Concerns or suspicions about child sexual exploitation can be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline online or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
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