Phoenix man arrested, accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting Georgia teen
A Phoenix man is facing numerous felony charges after being accused of picking up a teen girl in Georgia, bringing her to Arizona to reside in his house and sexually assaulting her.
On Saturday, Phoenix police officers arrested 27-year-old Blane Patterson at his home near Seventh Street and McDowell Road where the 14-year-old girl, who was reported missing in Georgia last month, was found safe.
According to court documents, Patterson admitted to having met the girl on social media when she was 13 years old. During the investigation, he referred to her as his girlfriend and said he "struggled with guilt over the relationship" as he knew it was criminal, court documents said.
The girl and Patterson had been talking on social media for a year and would exchange nude pictures and videos weekly, court documents said. They had arranged a plan for Patterson to drive to Georgia, retrieve her, and take her to his home in Phoenix, according to court documents.
On July 28, the 14-year-old girl was reported missing in Lafayette, Georgia, after being last seen at her friend's house. She left a note behind which suggested she "may be suicidal" and referenced going to be with a person known to her family as deceased, according to police reports.
Following her disappearance, officers learned through recovered text messages and social media accounts that the girl was speaking to Patterson and discussed the meet-up. Police requested the help of the FBI, which delivered the basic subscriber details and IP addresses from Patterson's recently deleted social media account, according to court documents.
A silver Nissan Verse with an Arizona license plate was also documented arriving in a park near the girl’s last known location. The registration was traced back to Phoenix and belonged to Patterson, according to police reports.
After obtaining this information, Phoenix police and FBI agents began surveillance on a Phoenix studio apartment that Patterson was renting. Law enforcement soon searched the place and found Patterson and the girl in bed partially nude together, according to court documents.
The teen was taken to the Family Advocacy Center in Phoenix to be interviewed. When police interviewed Patterson, he claimed that he knew her age at the time of the abduction and said that the girl asked him to rescue her from her home in Georgia because she said she had been sexually assaulted by multiple men close to her, according to police reports.
Patterson did not verify or attempt to report these claims nor report these allegations to authorities. The girl told investigators that she expressed to Patterson that she was depressed and suicidal and he offered to drive to Georgia and bring her back to Phoenix to live with him. She made no mention of being sexually abused in Georgia and did not fear going home, according to police reports.
Patterson admitted to performing sex acts on the drive back to Arizona with the girl. He said there were seven incidents of sexual assault once back in Arizona and he had recorded at least two of them, according to court documents.
According to Maricopa County Superior Court records, Patterson is facing four counts of sexual conduct with a minor and other charges including kidnapping, custodial interference and luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix man in custody in kidnapping, sexual assault of Georgia teen
