Man Accused of Kidnapping 9-Year-Old Girl From NY State Park Now Charged with Rape

A New York grand jury has now charged Craig Ross, Jr. — accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl off her bicycle in a state park last month — with rape and predatory sex assault on a child.

Ross was initially charged with kidnapping after investigators found the girl in a cabinet in the trailer where he lived on his mother’s property, as CrimeOnline reported. Detectives tracked him down after he left a ransom note at the girl’s parents home, and that matched finger prints on the note with fingerprints he provided when he was arrested for a DWI in the 1990s.

A court in Saratoga County unsealed the new, nine-count indictment on Friday, the Times Union reported.

Nelson, 46, pleaded not guilty.

He was arrested two days after the abduction and has been held in the Saratoga County jail without bond since that time.

The little girl disappeared while on a loop road through the campground at Moreau Lake State Park. Her bicycle was found with the kickstand down, prompting an intensive search.

Ross is due back in court on December 21.

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[Featured image: Craig Ross/Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office]