Deported immigrant sexually assaulted kidnapped NJ girl, cops say

A Mexican national who was in the country illegally was arrested by the Ohio State Highway Patrol after they found him with a 15-year-old girl who had been reported missing from Paterson.

Police said they found the girl's name in a police database of missing persons and learned that she had been sexually assaulted by Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, 34.

Morales-Pedraza was pulled over on Route 80 in Lucas County, Ohio, on Tuesday for failing to move over, according to the Highway Patrol. Neither Morales-Pedraza nor the girl could speak English and a translator was called to the stop. Neither of them had identification.

She was taken to a hospital while Morales-Pedraza was charged with abduction. He may face other charges, according to the Highway Patrol.

The two were headed for Chicago, according to police. Authorities did not say how the two knew each other.

Sgt. Al Romero, with the OHP Swanton post, told the Toldeo Blade that Morales-Pedraza is an unauthorized immigrant and had been previously deported. A spokesman for to ICE-ERO Newark referred questions about Morales-Pedraza to the agency's Detroit office.

Morales-Pedraza is being held at the Lucas County Corrections Center and will be arraigned Thursday on a charge of abduction.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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