Men harboring teen runaway swap license plates to ‘evade capture,’ Illinois cops say
Two Iowa men harboring a 15-year-old runaway switched license plates to keep police off their track, authorities said.
McClatchy News is not naming the men to protect the identity of the minor involved.
Illinois law enforcement were alerted Sept. 28 to the possible location of a 15-year-old Iowa girl listed as an endangered runaway, according to a Sept. 30 news release from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
Using pings from her cell phone, Iowa investigators said they tracked the girl about 105 miles west of Lee County, Iowa, where she was reported missing, to Peoria County.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office told Illinois deputies that she was likely in a white Dodge Ram with a 28-year-old man she had an order of protection against.
Peoria deputies found a Dodge Ram matching the description as well as the teen with two men at a gas station, authorities said.
The license plate, however, did not match the information they were given, authorities said.
It was determined the two men swapped license plates “to evade capture by police,” the sheriff’s office said.
The 28-year-old was arrested on two counts of criminal sexual assault, violation of an order of protection and harboring a runaway. Investigators learned the man had engaged in sexual activity with the girl, deputies said.
The second man, age 19, was arrested on charges of harboring a runaway and child pornography, authorities said.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Men harboring teen runaway swap license plates to ‘evade capture,’ Illinois cops say."
