Hoke County Teen Speaks Out About Alleged Kidnapping

These days, 15-year-old Dana Pevia is visiting with old family members and new relatives she has never even seen.

"Every day, I was thinking about here, my family," she said.

The whole time, Pevia was in Mexico. Police say she was taken there by Hector Frausto when he realized he got her pregnant. At the time, she was 11 years old. In June 1999, Pevia was in the sixth-grade and waiting at the bus stop when they say Frausto came and took her.

Sheriff Hubert Peterkin said Frausto left her in Mexico with his family after six months. Pevia said she and her daughter were held against their will and would try to escape.

"I'd go to different houses for help and they would find me and take me back to their house," Pevia said.

Pevia finally escaped and went to the U.S. Consulate for help. Over the weekend, Frausto was arrested in North Carolina. On Tuesday, he made his first court appearance. His supporters say he is getting a bad rap.

"She willingly left and everything she knew she'd done is wrong and she shouldn't put it on him," said Jamie Wright, Frausto's friend.

One woman, later identified as the mother of Frausto's newest son, said Dana lied about her age when the two were together.

"They've got him made out to be a terrible monster. That's not the person he is," said Karen West, Frausto's friend.

Pevia said she is trying to put Frausto behind her.

"What he's going through, I'm happy for him. It's what he deserves," she said.

Now a mother of two, Pevia hopes to soon return to the sixth-grade. Frausto is on a suicide watch at the jail. He is being held in jail under $1 million bond.