STANFORD, KY – A North Carolina teen previously reported missing was discovered on Christmas Day in a Kentucky home, hidden beneath a trap door. The girl’s alleged captor is facing a multitude of charges, including assault and sexual abuse.
Court records reveal that 34-year-old Zackary Jones is accused of taking the 16-year-old female from her North Carolina residence and subjecting her to physical and sexual violence. Jones’s mother initially called the authorities concerning an altercation between her son and his purported “girlfriend”.
Jones informed officers upon their arrival that the girl had exited the premises. However, a search of the home revealed drug paraphernalia with traces of substance. Upon restraining Jones, officers conducted a more detailed search of the residence.
The teen was discovered hidden behind a trap door camouflaged by a bedroom rug, said officers. The girl alleged that Jones had sexually assaulted her and strangled her, with officers noting visible marks on her neck.
Later investigations revealed that the girl had been reported missing in December 2023. The report states that the victim claimed Jones introduced himself as a 19-year-old when they first made contact a few weeks back. Eventually, he professed to be 25 years old, only for the girl to learn from his family that he was, in fact, 34. Jones allegedly threatened her into pretending she was 18.
Jones is alleged to have threatened the girl’s life multiple times while in possession of a firearm. Though admitting to having sex multiple times with the girl and supplying her drugs, he denies choking her.
The documents outline multiple charges against Jones, such as assault, strangulation, unlawful transaction with a minor, resisting arrest, unlawful imprisonment, drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence, rape, sodomy, use of a minor in a sexual transaction by electronic means, and terroristic threatening.