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OREM — An Orem man met a 16-year-old girl at her home in Iowa three times this year and took her back to Utah in October, where she lived with him for about four weeks while he committed sexual crimes against her, according to charges filed in 4th District Court.
Benjamin Braithwaite, 28, is charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
Braithwaite initiated a relationship with the girl at least as far back as 2013, when an out-of-state agency asked Orem police to investigate him, charging documents say. Orem police reportedly contacted Braithwaite in August 2013 and warned him against any future online contact with the girl, promising to criminally charge him if he spoke with her again.
"Benjamin stated that he understood and would have no further contact with (the teen)," charging documents state.
An Orem police officer spotted the girl walking along State Street about 2 a.m. on Oct. 31 and soon found the girl was listed as an endangered missing person and was considered a runaway.
In interviews with police, the girl said Braithwaite visited her in Marshalltown, Iowa, in December 2014, took her to a hotel and placed her in handcuffs while he had sex with her. She said Braithwaite visited again in the "early summer" of 2015 and fondled her at a hotel against her wishes, charging documents allege.
Related:
Orem man arrested in alleged kidnapping of 16-year-old Iowa girl
A 16-year-old Iowa runaway is on her way back home after Orem police arrested the man accused of picking her up and driving her to Utah.Braithwaite allegedly made yet another trip to Iowa around the beginning of October and this time drove the girl back to Utah with him, where police say he molested her in his Orem home on multiple occasions.
"She said she told him when she arrived in Utah and throughout that she doesn't want sexual relations with him," the charges state.
The girl told police that Braithwaite "constantly" sent her sexually explicit photos and videos of himself, and police found an explicit photo on her phone, according to court documents.
A search of court records shows Braithwaite has no criminal history in Utah outside of traffic violations.
Braithwaite, who is currently out of custody, had his first court hearing Monday. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 24 in American Fork.
