'Under 13 is under 13': Judge responds to attorney's claims that man charged with kidnapping & rape believed 12-year-old girl was college student
A 22-year-old man is in jail, on a more than $1 million bond for the kidnapping and rape of a 12-year-old girl.
Police arrested Preston Baker on Saturday afternoon during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 near Jones Sausage Road.
A missing girl was in his truck with him, police said. Baker appeared in court virtually Monday as more details emerged during the proceedings.
The girl's family said that she met Baker on Discord, a gaming app. The family said that Baker and the girl exchanged nude photos, then she met him in her neighborhood before he drove her to the North Carolina coast. Authorities said, in that time, he raped her.
The victim's father said Baker threatened to send out the girl's nude photos if she refused to meet with him.
Prosecutor Matt Lively said police received a report on Saturday that the defendant picked up the victim from an address in Durham and took her two hours away to Newport.
Baker's attorney said the 12-year-old had been posing as a college student and the two were in a "relationship."
The family of the girl said authorities found the two from a tracking app called Life360 and her texting 911.
The state said Baker admitted to sexually assaulting the girl. She was taken to WakeMed after she was found. At WakeMed, medical personnel performed a sexual assault kit. Baker was arrested with kidnapping and statutory sex offense with a juvenile younger than 13 years old.
Baker's attorney, Lee Turner, said the young girl had been posing as a 19-year-old East Carolina University student. The judge, however, wasn't buying it.
"I don't need to see any pictures," Judge Stevens said. "I mean, under 13 is under 13. That's like a sixth or seventh grader."
The victim's father is still stunned at the allegations.
"She reported to us and police that she tried to stop him from sexually assaulting her, but he forced himself on her," the father said. "That's what we have to go by."
"I don't care what she did or what she wanted, she is a young child," said the victim's aunt.
WRAL News is not identifying the victim in this case, due to her age.
Baker is being held at the Wake County Detention Center under a $1.5 million bond, with orders to have no contact with the girl if he bonds out. He is due back in court in May.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find a full list of resources by clicking here.
