Saturday, April 27, 2019
CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio man is facing charges in connection with the disappearance of California girl he apparently met online.
The FBI says 39-year-old Jeremy L. Cruz, of Elyria, has been charged with interstate transport of child pornography.
Cruz was arrested April 18 at his home in Sheffield Lake, which sits on Lake Erie about 26 miles (42 km) west of Cleveland. He was in the company of a 14-year-old girl who’d been reported missing in Santa Maria, California, three days earlier.
Police said the girl had been communicating with a man online that they identified through phone records as Cruz. They discovered photos on Cruz’s phone that they believe are child pornography.
The girl has returned home to her family.
Cruz is in federal custody following an initial court appearance Friday.