JONESBORO — A Monette Church of Christ pastor who police said helped harbor a Nebraska teenager in the Craighead County town for two months was charged Thursday with one count of sexual assault.
Charles Hughes, 35, was formally charged in Craighead County District Court, then returned to the Craighead County jail in Jonesboro where he was held on a $100,000 bond.
The 17-year-old girl, a relative of Hughes’ wife, was reported missing from her Fairbury, Neb., home Jan. 20, said Craighead County Sheriff Jack McCann.
Hughes drove to Nebraska in January and returned to Monette with the girl, McCann said. She had colored her hair and lived in an apartment there for three months, he said.
Detectives who were investigating the girl’s disappearance checked calls on her cell phone and found several from Monette, McCann said. Nebraska authorities then called the Monette Police Department, and officers located the girl.
She had been in Monette before to visit Hughes and his wife, the sheriff said.
The FBI also is investigating the case, and federal charges are possible, McCann has said.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 03/23/2012