Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Raping Missing 15-Year-Old Girl With Autism

A 33-year-old man from Culver City has been arrested and charged with raping a 15-year-old girl with autism.

Samuel Robert Duran Jr. is now behind bars at Los Angeles County Jail, and his bail has been set at $8 million, while the unnamed girl, who had been missing for several weeks, is now back at home. Duran Jr. was arrested on Tuesday on numerous counts of rape.

The 15-year-old girl went missing from Mar Vista on March 24, shortly after she had gone for a walk at Mar Vista Recreation Center. NBC Los Angeles have reported that the girl originally went missing after she’d had an argument with her mother over her medication, which resulted in her mother taking away her phone.

Worries immediately started to amass for the girl, especially since she has autism and was in need of medication.

Los Angeles Police officers were able to track and ultimately capture Duran Jr. because the girl had used his mobile phone to call her mother. It’s been revealed that when she called up her mother the girl remarked, “Mommy, help. Mommy help.” The L.A.P.D. have now begun their investigation into how Duran and the girl originally crossed paths, while it’s believed that she was ultimately at the man’s home in Culver City for 21 days.

Janice Greenberg, the mother of the formerly missing girl, revealed to NBC Los Angeles that she was found at the suspect’s house. And while she struggled to hide her emotions regarding the charges that have been brought against her daughter, she was overjoyed that she had been returned alive.

“I’m angry,” Greenberg said. “I’m disgusted… But I’m happy that my daughter’s back, that I have her, that I get to see her every night.”

Discussing the original phone call from her daughter, Greenberg explained, “I was stunned, shocked. I think I forgot to breathe for a moment. I looked at the phone and there was caller ID after it got disconnected. It saved her her life. She’s at home with me due to the nature of the crime.”

However, Greenberg is wary that the damage of what her daughter has gone through is still yet to materialize as she explained, “I don’t think she’s faced really what’s happened yet.”

Before he was arrested and charged on Tuesday, Duran had previously been convicted of possessing a dangerous weapon, as well as disturbing the peace. The name of the victim is yet to be revealed because of the severity of the crime.

[Image via India TV News]