Man found with 13-year-old runaway charged with sexual abuse

Jackson County, Ore. – Police arrested a Redding, California man in near Ashland after he was found with a 13-year-old girl who was listed as a runaway.

According to Oregon State Police, on the morning of January 18 a trooper stopped to check on a disabled vehicle on Interstate 5 south of Ashland. Once at the scene, the trooper identified a juvenile girl who was listed as a runaway out of Josephine County.

Troopers arrested the man who was found with the girl, 21-year-old Redding resident Francis Marcel Ward. He was taken into custody on the charge of sexual abuse. He is now lodged in the Josephine County Jail on three charges of sexual abuse in the first degree, sodomy and rape, among others.

Detectives said the victim and the suspect met through an adult dating website.

The investigation is ongoing, police will not release any further information at this time.

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