LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man from Pennsylvania is accused of driving through the night to kidnap a Seymour, Ind. teenager and then sexually assaulting her.
Andrew Howland, 38, was arrested last week after police say they found him in a Lancaster, Pa. hotel room with a 13-year-old girl that he drove to Indiana to kidnap and sexually assault.
According to prosecutors, Howland was communicating with the 13-year-old that lived near Seymour online via social media.
Investigators say that Howland kidnapped the girl around 1 a.m. in Jackson County and then drove her back to at least two hotel rooms in Pennsylvania.
The girl was originally reported by family to Jackson County authorities as a runaway.
On Dec. 2, West Hempfield Township police say they discovered Howland with the girl in a hotel room.
“This case is a stark reminder of the dangers children can encounter online,” Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said. “Social networking platforms can be hunting grounds for predators hoping to contact and victimize children. Police will continue to be as proactive as possible to interrupt this deviant activity.”
Howland is charged with kidnapping, unlawful contact with a minor, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, interference with custody of children, and misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and corruption of minors.
He is currently being held in jail in Pennsylvania on a $575,000 bond. He is scheduled to be in court on Dec. 17.
The girl was in the custody of social services at last check.
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