Authorities are looking for a man alleged of hitting an 11-year-old girl with his car, abducting and raping her. The 11-year-old is reportedly left in a ditch and the incident took place when she was on her way to school.
FOX 5 reported that the Whitehaven community in Memphis, Tennessee is shocked over the incident because such a thing has never happened in their neighborhood as they treated each other like a family. The 11-year-old was said to be on her way to Geeter Middle School at around 7 a.m. from her home.
The school of the victim was around a mile away from her home when a man, allegedly in a blue SUV hit her then the driver pulled up and subsequently abducted the girl. The victim's mother said that her daughter was placed in the man's truck and was raped.
The 11-year-old girl's mother added the suspect dropped her daughter in a ditch near Delta and Mason Roads. The mother revealed her daughter was battered and bruised but had no life-threatening injuries.
A passerby reportedly stopped to talk to the girl after she was seen crying in the area. The passerby said that the child's first words were "I just got raped."
Hours after the incident, Huffington Post reported that a man was arrested. The man was arrested at around 4 p.m. as the vehicle was spotted by another officer around two miles from where the child was found. The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Larry Ward. His clothing and physical attributes matched the statement of the raped child.
Ward has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, rape of a child and aggravated assault for the attack. Ward was involved in different crimes in the past such as burglary and driving with a suspended and revoked license.
No statement from Ward has been released yet and it was not clear if he has an attorney representing him.No other details are available as of the moment and court dates are yet to be scheduled.
