A New Market man is facing several charges after a missing 13-year-old girl from Iowa is found in Jefferson County.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Deputies received information from the West Des Monies (IA) Police Department on Monday about a missing teen that was possibly in Jefferson County.
Deputies went to two homes in an effort to find the teen when Jefferson County E-911 received a call on Fielden Store Road about a girl who went to a home and said she had been kidnapped.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they found the missing 13-year-old from Iowa. Investigators then discovered that 37-year-old Martin Sandoval, Jr. had been talking with her on social media and drove 13 hours to West Des Monies on Saturday to pick her up before driving back to Jefferson County.
Investigators say the victim and Sandoval had “several sexual encounters.”
He was arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated statutory rape and is being held on a $500,000 bond. Further charges are expected in Iowa where the victim was taken.
