PITTSBURGH, PA – Authorities say a missing Louisiana teenager endured days of captivity and repeated sexual assault in the basement of a Pennsylvania man she met online before being rescued by law enforcement last week.
Investigators allege that Ki-Shawn Crumity, 26, lured the 13-year-old girl to his home in Pittsburgh after connecting with her through the social media platform Snapchat. The teen had been reported missing by her family days earlier.
According to police, the girl’s ordeal began when Crumity promised to help her get adopted by a “trusted adult.” The plan resulted in her journeying more than 1,000 miles away from home, first traveling from Louisiana to Georgia with an adult woman, then continuing on to Washington, D.C., and ultimately to Pittsburgh.
Law enforcement agencies, acting on information about the teen’s online activity and her missing status, tracked her to a residence in the city’s Brighton Heights neighborhood. On October 30, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Special Victims Unit, with help from the FBI and U.S. Marshals, executed a search warrant at the address on Davis Avenue.
Inside the home’s basement, the girl was found concealed in a box covered with a sheet, according to officials. Authorities say she reported being given alcohol and marijuana edibles and being sexually assaulted repeatedly by Crumity during her captivity, which lasted for several days.
Neighbors described a significant law enforcement presence during the rescue, recalling seeing officers escort the visibly shaken teenager from the house. Some expressed relief and shock that such a crime had unfolded in their neighborhood.
Officials confirmed that Crumity now faces an array of charges, including human trafficking, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, and providing alcohol to a minor. He is being held in Allegheny County Jail after being denied bail.
The investigation has extended beyond Pennsylvania. Police believe that at least two other adults assisted with the girl’s movement across state lines. Among those arrested is Ronald Smith, 62, of New Orleans, who was taken into custody in Georgia and is charged with simple kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
Authorities say the teen’s case is a disturbing reminder of the risks posed by social media and the ways in which children can be targeted and exploited by predators online. Officials continue to investigate the extent of the network involved and to offer support to the victim and her family as the case proceeds through the legal system.