[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Not gonna lie, this is tough to read…
A missing 11-year-old girl in Florida has been found at the home of a 22-year-old man that she was referring to as her “boyfriend,” according to local police who made the discovery late last week.
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According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the child — who is not being identified in media reports due to the fact that she’s underage — was discovered at the Tampa home of 22-year-old Luis Alberto Encarnacion (mugshot pictured above, left). The discovery came one day after an Amber Alert was issued statewide in a desperate attempt to find her.
According to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, whose deputies arrested Encarnacion on child sex abuse charges, things obviously really didn’t sit well with the girl referring to the man twice her age as her “boyfriend.”
Nocco told the media (below):
“There is no logical sense for a 22-year-old man to be with an 11-year-old child unless there was horrific things that were going to continue or go on in that place. In her mind, she thought Luis was her boyfriend. We all know that’s not real … What’s real is Luis acted like a predator on this little child. She has gone from one adverse childhood experience to another. She is looking for that stability, that rock, love, that caring nature that most kids are given in life.”
Nocco believes the girl likely first met Encarnacion on social media.
According to the law enforcement officer, the unidentified young girl had already been “subjected to numerous adverse childhood experiences” even before coming across Encarnacion. Her dad is reportedly absent from the family and her mother is currently in jail, among other issues.
So awful…
After his arrest, the Tampa native was charged with one count of concealing the location of a minor, one count of unlawful use of a communication device, two counts of lascivious battery, and two counts of sexual battery against a victim under the age of 12. According to multiple media reports, after Encarnacion was arrested, he allegedly admitted to the offenses.
In addition to Encarnacion, two other men were also arrested on charges of interfering with child custody in regards to the same 11-year-old girl.
According to Click Orlando, 17-year-old Reginald Clark of Jacksonville (mugshot pictured above, right) and 19-year-old Jonathon MacGregor of Clearwater were allegedly seen on security camera footage picking up the girl from a central Florida 7-Eleven store this week, too.
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It’s unclear whether Clark and MacGregor have any connection to Encarnacion.
Such a terrible, terrible thing for a girl to suffer through.
Ugh. Our hearts go out to her in this unimaginable time of need.
[Image via Pasco County Sheriff’s Office]