LAFAYETTE — A missing nine-year-old girl was found injured inside the home of a 42-year-old man on Monday in Lafayette, according to police.
The mother of the girl told police her daughter was missing for about 30 minutes before she called police, Lafayette Police Department Lt. Randy Sherer said in a press release. The man, who lived in the 700 block of Park Avenue, made comments about seeing the child in the time frame she was missing.
Officers found the girl with visible signs of bruising and an apparent dog bite on her leg, Sherer said. The girl was taken to a local hospital.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed on Wednesday, the man forced the girl to go into his basement, perform a sexual act and made threats to kill her if she screamed or told anyone what happened.
The man was preliminarily charged with criminal confinement, Sherer said.
Prosecutors filed the probable cause affidavit on Wednesday in support of a 72-hour hold request in the case, Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington said in an email. Formal charges haven't been filed yet, according to online court records.
