director of the fbi Kashi Patel revealed FBI Its partners have rescued a missing 14-year-old girl from an “alleged online predator”. The Allegheny County teen was lured from his home over the weekend by Christopher Jones, 27, of Luzerne County, who contacted the child through the online chat platform Discord, CBS News reported.
“@FBIPittsburgh received a call from partners this week that a young girl was missing from her home. Agents and analysts immediately took action and identified the suspect’s location and vehicle near @FBIPhiladelphia via a Discord channel and iPad left at the girl’s residence,” Patel wrote on X.
“Within minutes, our Philadelphia Teams deployed to the residence and executed a search warrant – locating and recovering the 14-year-old, who is now safe and reunited with his family. The suspect was immediately arrested at the scene,” he continued.
Patel added: “A huge victory for the best of our partners at Whitehall Police and the FBI – swift action saved a young girl’s life.”
What happened
The girl was reported missing by her family on Sunday. Investigators believe she was lured from the home sometime between 11 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday, Whitehall Police Chief Jason Gagorik said. He added that the exchanges between the teen and Jones began on May 1.
“A review of the communications revealed that (Jones) knew the teen’s age, discussed specific sexual acts with the teen, offered to take the teen to his home to visit an amusement park in the eastern part of the state, and suggested that if anyone questioned why they were together, they would pretend they were a father and daughter,” Gagorik said.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Secret Service, found the girl after tracking Jones’ location, Gagorik said.
“At approximately 9:30 p.m. on Monday, May 4, agents safely entered the residence and located the juvenile inside. Christopher Jones was immediately taken into custody,” Gagorik said.
The teen was transported to a local medical facility in the eastern part of the state as a precaution. She was later reunited with her family.
“This case is an important reminder for families and guardians about the importance of being vigilant about what their children are doing online,” Gagorik said.
“We encourage parents to maintain open communication with their children”
Local police, as well as the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office and Secret Service, stress the importance of understanding what children are doing online. “You can no longer assume that your child is just playing video games. Being online is extremely dangerous,” U.S. Secret Service Agent Robert Pyle said at a news conference Wednesday.
The FBI stresses that predators can be everywhere, not just on a specific app or social media site.
“Frankly, these threats travel at the speed of social media. But if you’re trying to target a minor, I want you to know that law enforcement also travels at the speed of social media,” said Richard Evanchek of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office.
Evanchek explained that investigators linked Jones to the missing girl after finding evidence on Jones’ iPad.
“A preliminary review of the information on the iPad revealed that she had been communicating with several individuals outside of the Baldwin-Whitehall area,” Gagorik said.
“We encourage parents to maintain open communication with their children. Talk to them about the dangers of the person they’re talking to and, most importantly, don’t share their private information with anyone other than acquainted friends or family,” he added.
Jones is currently in jail awaiting extradition to Allegheny County. He faces multiple charges, including unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of a minor and attempted commission of multiple sex crimes.
“If you believe you intend to harm, kidnap or otherwise terrorize a minor, please know that the FBI, Secret Service, Whitehall Police Department and our partners will act swiftly to take you into custody,” Ivanchek said.
