JOPLIN, Mo. – Federal authorities filed charges against Christopher Bruey, 31, of Knoxville, Tennessee, accusing him of traveling to Joplin and taking a teen he met online across state lines to have sex with her.
The Joplin teen was reported missing by her parents on January 27, after her parents discovered her missing from the home. Officers with JPD were able to access the girl’s phone with her parents’ assistance. Authorities say they located messages on the social media site Snapchat, which they linked to a man they now say is Bruey.
Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation from Kansas City and Knoxville, along with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office joined in the hunt for Bruey and the teen.
Police say the suspect’s vehicle was located in the parking lot of a motel in Knoxville on January 28. Patrol officers say they spotted Bruey exiting the motel and detained him in the parking lot while waiting on a search warrant.
In the criminal complaint, federal officials allege Bruey confessed to having sex with the girl after first denying it.
The teen told investigators they had sex in Tennessee, despite Bruey only admitting to engaging in sexual intercourse in Missouri.
They also indicate the teen was interviewed by a Child Adolescent Forensic Examiner. The criminal complaint states the two met through Snapchat about a month earlier and the teen admitted she had never met Bruey in person before going with him to Tennessee. She also told authorities Bruey knew she was a teenager, according to the charging document.
Officials say they confiscated multiple cell phones from the hotel room and further examination of those phones, pursuant to a search warrant, is needed.
Bruey waived his preliminary hearing on Wednesday and was given a public defender. His next court date has not yet been set.
