A New York man has pleaded guilty in federal court to kidnapping a 13-year-old girl from her Reading home and taking her to his apartment in 2022.
Duane Taylor, 50, of Brooklyn pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Court Judge John M. Gallagher to charges of kidnapping, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, production of child pornography, possession of child pornography and transportation of child pornography.
According to a release from the office of U.S. Attorney David Metcalf of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and previous reports:
Reading police responded Aug. 31, 2022, to a call from the girl’s mother that the girl was missing from her bedroom, where the mother had last seen her daughter around 10:30 p.m. the previous night.
The mother searched for her daughter and found the back door of the home was wide open.
Investigators found the chain lock on the door had been broken.
Investigators reviewed video surveillance footage from the home’s security system that showed Taylor entering the living room about 2 a.m. and going to the stairs that lead to the second floor.
A short time later, the victim is seen walking down the stairs and through the living room, followed by Taylor, who was the mother’s former boyfriend.
Footage showed Taylor carrying the girl to his vehicle and putting her in the rear cargo area.
Reading investigators contacted New York City police. Taylor was traced to his Brooklyn apartment and taken into custody around 6:30 p.m., but the girl was not there.
The girl was found later that day in a different area of Brooklyn when a citizen called 911 to report a child was alone and asking for help because she had been kidnapped from Pennsylvania.
Police took the girl to a hospital for observation, where she was reunited with her mother.
According to the indictment, Taylor transported visual depictions showing a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced in September.