13-year-old taken to Columbus motel to do 'nasty things' with two men, police say

Two men picked up a 13-year-old girl in Cusseta, Ga., and brought her to a Victory Drive motel where both had sex with her at the same time, a detective testified Wednesday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Afterward they took her to a grandmother’s house in north Columbus, where police were summoned on April 25, said Detective Mark Scruggs. The girl had a sexual assault examination that yielded evidence suitable for DNA testing, and the profile derived from that testing was compared to the national database known as CODIS, for Combined DNA Index System, the officer said.

The database matched that profile to Princeton Kelly, 24, of Seale, Ala., Scruggs said, so police charged him with child molestation, interference with child custody and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The girl told police she met one of the men on Facebook, where they talked about doing “nasty things” at a motel. When the man came to pick her up in Chattahoochee County, he was accompanied by a second man.

They brought her to Columbus, where they bought alcohol at a liquor store and stopped by a gas station to get some little cigars to load with marijuana to smoke, Scruggs said.

Then they took her to the motel, where one pulled down her pants and starting have intercourse with her, before she told him to stop because it hurt, the detective said.

Then both men had sex with her, one orally, before they fell asleep, Scruggs said. The men were gone when the girl woke up, but soon returned, and that’s when she asked them to take her to her grandmother’s, the officer said.

He said Kelly denied having ever met the girl, but admitted knowing a Phenix City man allegedly involved. That suspect is alleged to have made contact with the girl before inviting Kelly to join in the sex acts, Scruggs said.

Police expect to make a second arrest in the case, he said.

After hearing Scruggs’ testimony, prosecutor Matt Brown asked that Kelly be charged with aggravated child molestation, a more serious offense, and Judge Julius Hunter agreed, finding probable cause to send the case to Muscogee Superior Court.

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 12:59 PM.