Woman accused of sexual battery, human trafficking of nonverbal girl, St. Johns deputies say
A woman was arrested early Thursday, accused of the sexual battery of a nonverbal girl, according to a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. Katie Malone, 34, is facing charges including sexual battery and human trafficking of a nonverbal girl. The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led deputies to arrest Malone. The tip was originally reported by Media Lab, Kik, a messaging app that allows users to remain anonymous. Kik provided multiple-colored photographs and videos of child being sexually battered. The photos and videos appear to show instances of abuse involving Malone and the girl. Malone told deputies she knew the child was nonverbal and was not granted a bond.
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Published : a month ago by ActionNewsJax.com News Staff in General
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A woman was arrested early Thursday, accused of the sexual battery of a nonverbal girl, according to a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Katie Malone, 34, is facing the following charges:
Deputies first received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Wednesday.
The tip was originally reported by Media Lab, Kik, the SJSO report said. Kik is a messaging app that allows users to remain anonymous.
“Kik provided suspect identifiers and multiple-colored photographs and videos of a child being sexually battered,” the report said.
The report shared details provided by Kik about photos and videos appearing to show instances of abuse involving Malone and the girl.
In more than one of the videos, the child was “vocal stimming (i.e.: unintelligible noises).” Also in more than one of the videos, the child was wearing “sensory headphones.”
In a recorded interview with deputies on body-worn camera, Malone said she knew the child was nonverbal.
Malone is being held in the St. Johns County Jail and was not granted a bond, online jail records show.
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Topics: Crime, Kidnapping, Human Trafficking, Sexual Exploitation