ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A Louisiana man has been charged with felony abduction in the case of a 12-year-old Leicester girl.
According to a news release from the Hall County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, investigators got involved after deputies made a routine traffic stop of Kenton Jesus Enamorado Ventura, 18, of West Monroe, Louisianna, on Interstate 985 on July 10.
During the stop, deputies spoke with Ventura and his passenger. Deputies notified investigators when the pair’s accounts about their relationship were inconsistent, the news release said.
Sheriff’s office investigators then contacted the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office and Ouachita Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff’s Office.
The news release said the preliminary investigation indicated Ventura met the girl online, and the two used WhatsApp to communicate for roughly a year. Investigators believe (using) wireless communication while driving and driving while unlicensed, Ventura drove from Louisiana to North Carolina and picked the girl up from her home. The two were believed to be heading to Ventura’s home in West Monroe, according to initial details.
The girl’s father was unaware she had left, the news release said. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office released the girl to her father and arrested Ventura on the traffic charges.
Deputies booked Ventura, who was charged with (using) wireless communication while driving and driving while unlicensed, into the Hall County Jail.
Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide more information, citing the ongoing investigation.
Ventura was charged with (using) wireless communication while driving and driving while unlicensed. He was also charged with felony abduction of children and booked into the Buncombe County Detention Facility on a $500,000 bond on Sunday, July 28.