Paterson Man Charged In Kidnapping Teen, Taking Her To Ohio

PATERSON, NJ – A 33-year-old migrant immigrant faces charges after authorities say he kidnapped a 15-year-old girl and took her to Ohio.

During his arraignment Tuesday in Newark federal court, Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza of Paterson pleaded not guilty to one count of kidnapping, one count of transportation of a minor and one county of re-entry of removed aliens, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

According to authorities, during a two-day period in April 2019, Morales-Pedraza abducted the girl and transported her to Ohio, with the intent that she engage in sexual activity.

At the time, he was in the country illegally, after having been removed from the United States in 2010, authorities said.

According to a report from the Associated Press, when Ohio state troopers pulled over Morales-Pedraza on a traffic stop near Toledo, he was arrested after they determined he was traveling with a girl that was listed in police databases as missing from Paterson. Troopers said he was en route to Chicago.

The case was investigated by FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office Sexual Investigations Unit, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Lake Township Police Department, Carpenito said.

The count of kidnapping carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Transportation of minors carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and mandatory restitution. Re-entry of removed aliens carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.