A 34-year-old man, Antonio Agustin, has been indicted on five felony s*x offenses in the Tuscarawas Common Pleas Court in connection with a missing 12-year-old Georgia girl who was found in Ohio, told Fox 8 News. The indictment, handed down on August 9, includes two counts of rape, one count of gross s*xual imposition, and two counts of pandering s*xually oriented material involving a minor or impaired person.
The case has drawn significant attention, as the young girl from Georgia was reported missing in May and was later discovered in Dover, Ohio, with Agustin, whom she had met online. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the disturbing details of how the girl came to be in Ohio with the much older man.
While the court docket does not specify when Agustin will next appear in court, a judge in Georgia confirmed that the case will proceed in Ohio. “Based on the information we have at this time, the most serious criminal offenses in this case occurred in Ohio, and the bulk of necessary witnesses even to prove a Hall County case are in Ohio. It makes sense that the suspect answer to what charges Ohio proceeds on first,” said Lee Darragh, District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, in an interview with WSBTV.
Investigators from the Hall County Sheriff’s Office believe that Agustin traveled to Gainesville, Georgia, on May 29 to pick up the girl. The two then reportedly drove back to Agustin’s home in Dover, Ohio, on the same day.
“We believe [she] had been communicating for a time with Mr. Augustin via Facebook Messenger and other online apps. [She] had indicated she was unhappy and wanted to leave home. We also know she had been communicating with other adult males online, telling them the same thing,” Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch explained during a Friday morning press conference. He emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating, “That said, I want to be clear that [she] is the victim here. She is only 12-years-old.”
The case underscores the dangers of online communication between minors and adults, highlighting the vulnerabilities of young people in the digital age. As the legal proceedings move forward, the focus remains on ensuring justice for the young victim and holding the perpetrator accountable for his actions.