A 22-year-old man from Ecuador has been detained on charges that he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old Chicago girl he met through Instagram, according to prosecutors.
In a detention petition, prosecutors said Henry Lema, 22, first contacted the girl online, picked her up without her parents’ knowledge, and took her to his residence, where he sexually assaulted her.
Chicago police began investigating around 7 a.m. on December 23 after the girl’s parents called 911 from outside a home in the 4800 block of West Crystal Street. The parents told officers their daughter was missing and that they had tracked her cellphone to that address, which was later confirmed to be Lema’s residence. The parents said they had attempted to contact their daughter by phone and knocked on doors in the area without success.
According to prosecutors, the girl eventually answered her phone and came outside from the second floor of Lema’s home, prompting the parents to call the police. Officers who arrived at the scene observed hickeys on the child’s neck and detained Lema, prosecutors said in a detention petition. He allegedly gave officers a false birthdate that would have made him 16, but police later confirmed he is 22.
The girl was taken to a hospital for treatment, where a sexual assault evidence collection kit was completed. Prosecutors said investigators also recovered additional evidence from Lema’s home, possibly including genetic material.
The child told investigators she first met Lema on Instagram on December 2 and informed him that she was 12 years old. She said Lema told her he was 15. Prosecutors said the two later moved their conversations to WhatsApp and that Lema came to the girl’s home on “multiple occasions” to meet her outside.
According to the detention filing, the girl said Lema took her to his residence after promising her nothing would happen. Once inside his room, she said, he kissed her, removed her clothing, and sexually assaulted her. The girl allegedly told investigators she asked him to stop and said she wanted to go home, but he held her down and assaulted her as she tried to get away.
Prosecutors said that on December 23, Lema again promised nothing would happen, but once she arrived at his home, he sexually assaulted her again and left visible marks on her neck. The girl said she only learned Lema’s true age after the police arrived.
Authorities said Lema admitted to meeting the girl online and acknowledged knowing she was a minor, though he claimed he believed she was 15. Prosecutors said he admitted they had sex twice and described the girl as his “girlfriend” of about six weeks.
Judge James Murphy III ordered Lema detained after finding prosecutors met their burden under the law. Lema is charged with criminal sexual assault of a victim younger than 13 and kidnapping.
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