A Georgia man is behind bars after police say he threw a 13-year-old girl from his car during a high-speed police chase.
The State reports that South Carolina authorities spotted a vehicle parked at a vacant building in Richland County, South Carolina, off of the 4700 block of Alpine Road, at a little before 3 a.m. Sunday morning. When a deputy pulled close to the vehicle, he spotted a man crawling from the backseat and into the driver’s seat. The deputy said another person was in the backseat with the man.
The man, identified as Derek Jerome Nelson of Augusta, Georgia, sped away. According to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the deputy followed the suspect and noticed what he thought were “parts of the vehicle flying in the air.” Nelson allegedly slammed on his brakes twice while veering off road.
At some point, Nelson pulled the car over and the deputy noticed the man only had on a t-shirt. Nelson reportedly told the deputy that he was “hooking up” with a girl he met online and that she jumped out of his car. Later, authorities found the girl, a 13-year-old, who claimed her boyfriend threw her out of the car. The girl had injuries to her arms, hands, and legs.
The suspect reportedly told police that he thought the girl was 18. Yet, messages exchanged between the two and uncovered by police indicated that the suspect called her his “13-year-old doll,” while the little girl continued to refer to the suspect as her boyfriend, according to police.
The outlet reports that Nelson was arrested and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, dissemination of obscene material to a person under 18, failure to stop for police, criminal sexual conduct, and sexual exploitation of a minor.
The story continues to develop. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
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