Charges: Man tried taking 15-year-old West Valley girl to Georgia to live with him

Charges: Man tried taking 15-year-old West Valley girl to Georgia to live with him

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SALT LAKE CITY — Officers intercepted a 28-year-old man and 15-year-old girl at a Greyhound bus station in St. Louis after learning they were on their way to Georgia from Utah to live together "as boyfriend and girlfriend," according to federal charges filed Thursday.

Nelson David Acosta-Melendez, address unknown, was charged in Utah's U.S. District Court with transporting a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Court documents say the 15-year-old victim, from West Valley City, went missing on Oct. 14. She was last seen around 5 a.m. that day when her sister saw her gathering clothes, according to West Valley police.

After the girl's high school told her parents she wasn't in class, they tried unsuccessfully to reach her on her cellphone.

"(The teen's) father stated (she) has been talking to some strange male," the charges state. "None of (her) family or friends know or are familiar with this male individual."

Police reported they were able to track the location of the victim's phone and discovered she was traveling east at the time.

On the same day the girl went missing, according to police, her mother received a Facebook message from a woman who has two children with Acosta-Melendez.

"Is your daughter ... missing? I think she is with my baby's daddy and he is bad news," the message said. "He is taking her to Atlanta and I'm freaking out."

Investigators interviewed the woman, who told them Acosta-Melendez had left her for the 15-year-old girl and planned to move to Atlanta with her. Officers were quickly able to track Acosta-Melendez and the victim to a Greyhound bus station, where he was arrested.

Police interviewed the girl and confirmed that "they were traveling to Atlanta to live as boyfriend and girlfriend and that (Acosta-Melendez) was going to take care of her," court documents say. She said they had been in a relationship for about four months, though court documents don't specify how they met. Acosta-Melendez allegedly had sex with the girl at least four times in West Valley City.

He is also accused of purchasing Greyhound tickets for himself and the teenager by using false names. Acosta-Melendez "is unlawfully inside the United States," court documents state.

Acosta-Melendez is currently in custody in St. Louis and U.S. marshals planned to transport him to Utah to face his federal case, said U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch.

If convicted, Acosta-Melendez would face at least 10 years in federal prison and up to a life sentence. He could also be subject to a fine of up to $250,000.

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Ben Lockhart

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