US Marine taken into custody after missing 14-year-old girl found in barracks at Camp Pendleton
A US Marine was taken into custody after a missing 14-year-old girl was found inside the barracks at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego and the teen’s family said she was sold for sex and raped by the man.
The teenage girl, who has learning disabilities, allegedly ran away from home on June 9 and was reported missing by her grandmother on June 13, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
She was discovered inside the barracks by military police on June 28, almost 20 days after she disappeared, her aunt Casaundra Perez said.
“She was found in the barracks by military police. She had been sold to a soldier for sex,” Perez said in a TikTok video about the case.
The sheriff’s department confirmed that the teen was found at the marine base camp and a spokesperson said that her grandmother said she had previously run away, but always returned home quickly, according to NBC 7 – San Diego.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is handling the investigation with the support of the sheriff’s department and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force.
A Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group was taken into custody for questioning by NCIS on June 28, Captain Chuck Palmer of Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Logistics Group said.
A photo of the unnamed Marine — who has not yet been charged — being taken away in handcuffs by Marine Corps Police was shared on social media days later.
Perez accused the military of trying to cover up the alleged rape of her niece and said that the whole base camp is responsible.
“The reality is the whole facility allowed this to happen,” she said. “The security looked her in the face and allowed this man to bring a minor onto base where he then proceeded to have sex with her. Due to her age, she could not have given this consent.”
NCIS does not comment on ongoing investigations.
The girl was returned to her grandmother.
