A Florida man waived his preliminary hearing and detention hearing in U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and is being held without bond charged with taking a 14-year-old Joplin girl across state lines for sexual activity.
Christopher D. Bruey, 31, Fort Myers, Florida, allegedly contacted the girl through SnapChat, arranged to meet with her in a church parking lot. At that point, the girl did not know what Bruey looked like, according to the probable cause affidavit, but his was the only vehicle in the parking lot.
Authorities were able to track Bruey and the child to a motel near Knoxville, Tennessee.
A Joplin Police Department news release indicated the child has been returned safely to her parents.
From the probable cause affidavit:
On January 27, 2023, Joplin Police Department in Missouri, received a report of a missing 14-year-old girl whose initials are A.H., and whose identity is known to law enforcement. A.H.'s parents discovered her missing from her home in Joplin, Missouri, on January 27, 2023.
A.H. had last been seen in her house on the evening of January 26, 2023. During their investigation, JPD discovered a Snapchat account for A.H. and was able to access A.H.'s Snapchat account through a JPD-owned smartphone after a family member guessed A.H.'s password.
JPD located Snapchat messages between A.H. and a user later identified as (Christopher) Bruey discussing Bruey picking A.H. and getting married. Bruey also expressed concern in Snapchat messages to A.H. that he would be arrested, but said that he "trusted" A.H.
JPD checked license plate reader (hereinafter, "LPR") data for Bruey's vehicle and discovered Bruey' s vehicle had been spotted in Knoxville, Tennessee. JPD then requested assistance from FBI Kansas City and FBI Knoxville.
On January 28, 2023, Knox County Sheriff's Office and the FBI-Knoxville Office received the following alert from the Joplin, Missouri Police Department. (Photo above)
On January 28, 2023, FBI Task Force Officer John Sharp circulated the above alert and reviewed LPR data around the Knoxville, Tennessee area. Task Force Officer Sharp found that Bruey's license plate has registered on several LPRs in the East Knoxville, Tennessee area on January 27, 2023 and on January 28, 2023.
The Knoxville Police Department was made aware of the alert and notified that the suspected pickup truck and license plate had been captured on an LPR in the East Knoxville area near Magnolia Avenue and Cherry Street.
As the patrol officers waited for backup, Bruey exited the hotel and walked to his truck. Patrol officers detained Bruey in the parking lot. Patrol officers then checked with the Value Inn clerk and learned that Bruey had rented room 316 in the hotel.
The Value Inn's rooms have exterior doors that open to open-air walkways. Officers approached room 316, knocked and announced. The door was never answered. After several attempts at knocking and announcing, officers made entry into the room using a room key to check on the safety of the minor, A.H.
Upon entry to the room, officers located A.H. who had just exited the shower. In the hotel room, officers saw marijuana and open containers of alcohol in plain view and smelt an odor of marijuana.
Officers left A.H. in the room because she did not have a jacket and it was cold outside. A KPD officer stood at the partially-opened hotel room door while an FBI Task Force Officer (TFO) obtained a state search warrant.
While waiting for the warrant, FBI Agents received consent from A.H.'s parents over the phone to search A.H.'s phone. A.H. identified her phone as a black Motorola smartphone to FBI Agents who entered the hotel room and seized A.H.' s phone from a nightstand near AH.
FBI Agents then exited the room and continued waiting for the state search warrant. A search of the hotel room, pursuant to a warrant, revealed two additional cellular phones that were seized by law enforcement: a blue Motorola smartphone, belonging to Bruey, and an LG smartphone later determined to also belong to A.H.
Bruey's blue Motorola phone had a picture of A.H. as the phone background and appeared to have been smashed. Neither of A.H.'s phones had cellular service, but they were able to connect to Wi-Fi.
The LG smartphone and blue Motorola smartphones were also authorized to be searched pursuant to a state search warrant. An FBI Forensic Examiner examined all three phones. Neither of A.H.' s phones had been used much. A.H. disclosed in a later interview that she had not used her phone since Thursday, January 27, 2023.
Bruey's blue Motorola smartphone was too damaged to be examined by traditional forensic tools and will undergo further examination at a later date.
After Bruey was detained, he was advised of his Miranda rights. Bruey admitted that the two had driven from the Joplin, Missouri area. Bruey stated he met A.H. in a Wendy's parking lot in the Joplin, Missouri area and the two had been traveling in his truck together.
Bruey further admitted that he and A.H. engaged in sexual intercourse in Missouri, prior to arriving in Tennessee. Bruey then invoked his rights and questioning was ceased. A.H. was asked some limited questions by law enforcement while at the Value Inn. A.H. advised that the two had been traveling from Missouri and had slept in Bruey's truck. A.H. stated that she met Bruey in a church parking lot in the Joplin, Missouri area.
A.H. stated that she communicated with Bruey through the social media platform Snapchat. A.H. further stated that when she was meeting Bruey, she did not know what he looked like, but when she went to the church parking lot to meet Bruey, Bruey's pickup truck was the only one there.
A.H. advised that January 28, 2023 was the first night that Bruey and her had rented a hotel room to stay in. Bruey's pickup truck was parked in the Value Inn parking lot and a K9 officer alerted to the odor of narcotics from Bruey's pickup truck.
On January 29, 2023, a forensic interview of A.H. was conducted by an FBI Child Adolescent Forensic Interviewer (CAFI). A.H. stated that she was from Missouri. A.H. stated that she started talking to Bruey on SnapChat about one month ago. A.H. stated that Bruey was talking to A.H. about getting married to A.H. Bruey told A.H. that he was traveling to Tennessee and A.H. asked Bruey if she could go with him.
A.H. stated she packed two backpacks and met Bruey in a church parking Jot near her home on January 26 or 27, 2023. A.H. stated they drove for awhile and stopped in Kentucky to sleep in the truck. A.H. stated they could no longer stand the cold in the evenings and began looking for a hotel on Saturday, January 28, 2023.
The interviewer and A.H. took a break and re-engaged in the interview after a five-minute break. After the break, A.H. stated that she and Bruey did engage in sexual intercourse. A.H. stated that Bruey and her had sexual intercourse in the Value Inn, in Knoxville, Tennessee. A.H. detailed that Bruey took a shower in the hotel room.
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