A Florida man was arrested after allegedly holding captive an underage teenage girl and then concealing her inside a clothes dryer in his Key Largo home after she made a frantic call to 911.
Authorities have charged Christopher Michael Veit, 53, with four counts of sexual battery on a victim 16 or 17, one count of kidnapping and one count of interfering with custody of a minor, according to jail records reported by the Miami Herald.
On Sunday, law enforcement responded to the Key Largo home at approximately 11:45 a.m. after the alleged victim called 911 and reported that she was being held hostage.
Deputies later found the teenage girl, allegedly restrained by Veit, hidden inside a clothes dryer.
When she said she wanted to leave, her alleged captor had taken her cellphone, bound her and forced her into the home appliance, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
While she had no life-threatening injuries, authorities said, they reported finding evidence of an ongoing sexual relationship between Veit and the victim.
First responders took the girl to a local hospital for evaluation before releasing her into the custody of a family member, Fox News reported. The Florida Department of Children and Families was also notified of the situation.
Also discovered during law enforcement response were “several sheets” of counterfeit currency, several news outlets reported. The U.S. Secret Service was notified of the discovery, authorities said.
More charges may be forthcoming. Veit remains in Jail on a $650,000 bond.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets , which documents one of the worst cases of child sex abuse in U.S. history, and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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