A former security guard is accused of hiding a 12-year-old Idaho runaway in his room in Kennewick, Washington, for five days and raping her.
Then a neighbor got suspicious and called police.
When officers found the girl in Austin Holbrook’s parents’ home, she also was dehydrated and malnourished, according to court documents.
Holbrook, 20, faces two counts of second-degree child rape with the special allegation of her being a runaway.
He is being held in the Benton County jail in lieu of bail of $500,000.
Holbrook met the Nampa, Idaho, preteen through the Hily dating app, court documents said.
The app users are supposed to be 18 or older, according to the service’s community rules.
After talking with the girl, he allegedly arranged to pick her up. He drove from Kennewick to Idaho in his father’s Dodge Durango to pick her up on March 15.
Holbrook told investigators he parked around the corner while she sneaked out of her house, according to court documents.
The girl told police that Holbrook said he would protect her if her mom filed a missing person report.
He allegedly had inappropriate contact with the girl at an Oregon gas station, and then took her to his home in Kennewick.
He had her hide in his room while his mom was home, and she could only leave to shower and eat after his mom left. He also allegedly sexually assaulted her while in his room, court documents said.
A neighbor noticed Holbrook’s suspiciously young “girlfriend” and called police, court documents said. Detectives found Holbrook and the girl in the East 16th Avenue home.
A medical exam found she was malnourished and dehydrated.
She told investigators Holbrook was speaking with her 13- and 14-year-old friends as well.
The Nampa Police Department has issued a notice asking anyone who had contact with Holbrook to reach out to them.
While the court documents don’t say what Holbrook’s latest job was, his LinkedIn profile says he previously worked in Boardman, Oregon, as an unarmed security guard. He was no longer working there as of November 2023.
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
