CHANDLER, AZ — A 23-year-old man is facing serious charges after allegedly kidnapping a 14-year-old girl from Kansas and bringing her to Arizona.
The girl had been missing since July 20 and authorities tracked her cell phone to an Extended Stay America hotel in Chandler.
When officers arrived at the hotel, staff confirmed a man named Cristian Leonardo Caal Mucu was registered to room 431. Police were able to locate the missing girl alone in the hotel room.
"She made plans with the suspect to leave with him in the middle of the night without her parents' knowledge," court records said.
According to police, the girl told detectives she met Caal-Mucu about two years ago through his sister when she was babysitting the sister's child.
The girl reported that Caal-Mucu's sister's husband picked her up around 2 a.m. on July 20 from her home in Kansas, and they drove to Arizona, arriving at the hotel 14 hours later.
Police later located Caal Mucu at his workplace and brought him to the Chandler Police Department for questioning. According to court records, Caal-Mucu is a Guatemalan citizen who is in the United States illegally.
During the interview, Caal Mucu admitted to bringing the girl to Arizona and engaging in sexual conduct with her multiple times, according to the police report.
"The state views these offenses rather seriously," prosecutors said during Caal-Mucu’s initial court hearing.
Prosecutors also noted concerns about "the defendant being in the country illegally and having multiple identifications."
Through a translator, Caal-Mucu told the judge that the 14-year-old was his girlfriend.
"I'm not kidnapping anybody, and I knew what I was doing was a felony, and I discussed it with her, and I understand it's a felony, and I would like to be responsible if she ends up pregnant," Caal-Mucu said.
He claimed he was saving the girl from an abusive family, but the judge rejected that explanation.
"OK, but what you did is illegal in this country," the judge responded.
The judge ordered Caal-Mucu held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
"We both know the age difference but just want to let you know that she is my girlfriend and I can pay the bond as well," Caal-Mucu told the court, before asking if he could pay his bond in installments.
ABC15 spoke with the local sheriff's office in Kansas who had been searching for the missing girl. They declined to comment on the case to protect the young girl's identity and location, but praised the collaboration between different agencies, calling it an example of excellent investigative work.
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