Palmetto man charged in teen rape

A Palmetto man was arrested Sunday on charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old runaway, police said.

Roderick McCrary, 25, was charged with rape, child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The teen had been reported missing last week by Fulton County police, and encountered McCrary early Friday morning at the Checkers restaurant on Old National Highway in College Park, police said.

"She got in the car with him and he took her to his apartment in Palmetto," Palmetto Police Sgt. Lee Gragg told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The 14-year-old said she was sexually assaulted."

It is unclear how the girl got away from McCrary, but she contacted police from South Fulton Regional Hospital, Gragg said.

After interviewing the teen, investigators went to McCrary's home to question him. Police subsequently acquired an arrest warrant, and McCrary was taken in to custody.

He remains at the South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail without bond.

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