Two men, one from metro Atlanta and one from Maryland, were charged with multiple trafficking and sex crimes related to a 14-year-old South Georgia girl who went missing more than a year ago.
Nicholas Fernandez, 23, of Alpharetta, was arrested in Athens on Monday on multiple charges related to the girl’s disappearance, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a news release. Fernandez is a student at the University of Georgia, officials confirmed Thursday, adding that UGA police assisted the GBI with the arrest.
“The University of Georgia finds these alleged crimes to be reprehensible and condemns them in the strongest terms,” spokesman Greg Trevor said in a statement.
Fernandez had previously been arrested in Cook County, where the girl is from, on July 21, Miles said. In Cook, Fernandez has been charged with counts of sex trafficking of a minor and enticing a minor. In Athens-Clarke County, he has been charged with sex trafficking of a minor, aggravated child molestation, child molestation, statutory rape and kidnapping.
“Regarding potential UGA disciplinary action, in matters alleging sexual misconduct as serious as this one, the university can consider a wide range of options, from interim suspension to expulsion,” Trevor said. “Federal privacy laws prohibit the university from discussing the specifics of any individual case.”
The GBI also secured warrants for 50-year-old Brady Hart, of Chestertown, Maryland, on similar charges, Miles said. The girl was found at Hart’s home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Chestertown, with a population of about 5,000, is located directly across the Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore.
Hart has also been charged in the same two Georgia counties as Fernandez, according to the GBI. In Cook, he is facing one count of sex trafficking of a minor, two counts of enticing a minor and interstate interference with custody. In Athens, he has been charged with counts of sex trafficking of a minor, kidnapping and enticing a minor.
According to online court records in Maryland, Hart was arrested and charged with kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor on April 23, 2020, just days after the teenager was reported missing. He was released from jail on $20,000 bond the following day.
The case began on April 16, 2020, when police in Sparks, a town located on I-75, requested help from the GBI with a missing person case. Though few details were released about the investigation, the GBI said it eventually led agents to Hart’s home in Maryland, where the girl was found. In the course of the investigation, agents discovered that Fernandez was Hart’s associate, the GBI said.
The GBI did not release details about when the girl was found. At this point in the investigation, she is believed to be the only victim. No additional details were released about how the two men are linked or what roles they may have played in the alleged kidnapping.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, Miles said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the GBI’s regional office in Douglas at 912-389-4103 or the Sparks Police Department at 229-546-8211. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-8477, online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
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