A 19-year-old Oregon man was arrested on a kidnapping charge in Northern California after being found with a 12-year-old girl from Chula Vista he met on an online gaming platform, authorities said Monday.
Darrien Jenkins was arrested at nearly 3 a.m. Monday on felony charges of kidnapping a child to commit lewd or lascivious acts, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.
According to Chula Vista police, officers were first alerted to a possible kidnapping Sunday evening after the 12-year-old girl's family called 911. The family told police that the girl went outside to ride her bicycle, but they later discovered the bicycle was still at the home.
CVPD investigators, in coordination with San Diego's Internet Crimes Against Children division, started looking into the girl's possible whereabouts and had reason to believe she could be with Jenkins.
CVPD said the two had met on the online gaming platform, Discord, and Jenkins traveled from Oregon to Chula Vista to see her. At the time of their online communication, Jenkins believed the girl to be 19 years old.
Their location was later pinpointed as they were heading northbound on the Interstate 5 in Stockton, California, about 80 miles east of San Francisco, the department said.
California
CHP pulled Jenkin's vehicle over and he was arrested. He remains in custody at San Joaquin County Jail and it is unclear if he will be extradited to San Diego County to face charges.
The girl was taken into protective custody until she can be reunited with her family, CVPD said.
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Chula Vista Police did not release any additional details and are still investigating the incident.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the following charges were dismissed before Jenkins was arraigned: using an underage person for an obscene matter and a misdemeanor charge of selling harmful matter to a minor.
