A 32-year-old Mississippi man is behind bars on kidnapping charges after police found him in a broken-down car with a 15-year-old Atlanta girl who’d been reported missing, authorities said.
Emanuel Moore of Philadelphia, Miss., was arrested by the Mississippi Highway Patrol after a state trooper recognized signs of possible sex trafficking and started asking questions, police said.
“During his initial interview with the child, it was discovered that she was a victim of commercial sexual exploitation and was in an inappropriate relationship with the 32-year-old,” police spokesman Derrick Beckom told AJC.com.
Moore was taken into custody after police also discovered that he was out on bond for an earlier arrest involving the teen. He had previously been charged with statutory rape, but it's unclear where that arrest occurred.
He is now charged with kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Another man in the car was also detained, but later released after being questioned by investigators.
Moore remains in the Lowndes County, Miss., jail with a $50,305 bond, deputies said.
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