Former Fort Bragg soldier charged with statutory rape

A former Fort Bragg solider was arrested and charged Wednesday with having a three-year relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

James Alan Luna, 31, formerly of the 100 block of Wolfpoint Drive in Fayetteville, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in a hotel parking lot in Lake Charles, La., the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said.

Luna was held in the Calcasieu Parish Detention Center in Lake Charles without bond Tuesday and is awaiting extradition to Cumberland County, where he will face charges that include four counts of statutory rape and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor.

Luna allegedly had sexual relations with the girl since she was 13-years-old, the sheriff's office said. The girl "reportedly suffered mental and emotional distress as a result of Luna's inappropriate behavior," the agency said in a statement.

The encounters began in October 2011 in the girl's home but she did not report them until April 2014, the department said. By then, Luna was living in Jacksonville, Fla.