A California man is behind bars after police say he held a teen girl against her will while raping and drugging her. Investigators are now looking for additional victims.
ABC 7 reports that San Bernadino County authorities arrested 31-year-old Joshua Lewis Blackwell-Tallen on charges of rape and false imprisonment on Friday. According to police, he’s accused of grooming a minor he met online in an attempt to lure her to a hotel room.
The victim, an unidentified teen girl labeled as a runaway, was found with Blackwell-Tallen off of University Avenue, at a hotel in Loma Linda. Police arrested the suspect and booked him into the West Valley Detention Center.
“Deputies contacted the suspect Joshua Blackwell-Tallent at the hotel and also located the victim inside the room,” police wrote in a statement. “Deputies obtained evidence that Blackwell-Tallent groomed the juvenile via the internet and arranged for her to be transported to the location.”
Investigators said there may be additional victims.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Central Station (909) 387-3545 or the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463).
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[Feature Photo: Joshua Lewis Blackwell-Tallen/San Bernadino PD]