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Man accused in sexual assault of girl he met through social media

A 21-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a girl after communicating with her via social media and a dating app, according to details released by police Wednesday.

Joseph Plummer has been charged with kidnapping of a minor, along with five counts of sexual assault of a child under 14, child abuse, and luring or attempting to lure a child or mentally ill person, court records show.

The girl left her home to skateboard on Feb. 19, and after her mother went outside the child was missing and the skateboard remained on the street, according to a Henderson Police Department arrest report, which described the girl as “dependent on mental health medication which she did not take with her.”

Police found a conversation on the victim’s laptop between her and an unknown male that mentioned a plane ticket. Three days later, Las Vegas police found the girl inside an apartment with Plummer and detained him, according to the report.

Henderson police interviewed the girl, who said she had been communicating with Plummer online and that they agreed to meet on the day she went missing. She got into Plummer’s car near her home, and he drove her to his apartment, according to the report.

The girl told police that she and Plummer had sex at least five times and that they had purchased marijuana and smoked together.

Plummer told police that the girl told him she was 19 on the dating app and that after they met in person she said she was 18. He confirmed that they had sex multiple times and smoked together, according to the report.

Jail records showed Plummer remained in custody without bail as of Wednesday night. He is due in court on April 13, according to court records.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.

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