A Marine who was detained and questioned after a missing 14-year-old girl was found in his California barracks has been charged with sexual assault of a minor.
Military police at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton found the girl on June 28, more than two weeks after she was reported missing by her grandmother, as CrimeOnline reported.
Captain Chuck Palmer of the 1st Marine Logistics Group said at the time that a Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group was taken into custody and questioned about his involvement with the girl.
Neither the girl nor the marine have been identified.
“Military prosecutors have charged the Marine with allegations of sexual assault of a minor and violating liberty restriction from a prior unrelated case,” Palmer said in a statement on Friday, NBC News reported. “After the preliminary hearing, the command will review all charges and evidence to determine whether the case should be tried by court-martial.”
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said that it and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force supported the investigation, which was conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services.
The teen’s grandmother reported her missing on June 13 after she ran away from home four days earlier. The grandmother said she had run away before but always returned home quickly.
The girl has been returned to her grandmother.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: FILE – In this Sept. 22, 2015, file photo, the entrance to Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)]
