Teen found; 35-year-old charged
Published 12:28 pm Wednesday, July 6, 2016
A 35-year-old man was arrested after a 13-year-old Burkeville girl was located Monday night in Drakes Branch after her mother reported her missing at 1:30 a.m. the same day, according to the Charlotte County and Nottoway sheriff’s offices.
Kenneth Dixon, of Charlotte County, was charged with carnal knowledge of a minor — a felony -— and is being held without bail, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Dixon allegedly picked up the girl “around midnight” after she left voluntarily from her mother’s home on Dutchtown Road in Burkeville. The two had talked through social media, according to the Nottoway Sheriff’s Office.
The Code of Virginia defines “carnal knowledge of a child” as having intercourse or performing sexual acts unforced with a minor from ages 13-15.
The Nottoway Sheriff’s Office received the initial call from the girl’s mother, then worked with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and the Missing and Exploited Children Task Force to find both the girl and Dixon.
The girl was found safe at her father’s Drakes Branch home, according to the Nottoway Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Dixon was located in the Drakes Branch area as well, then transported to the sheriff’s office for questioning by both the Charlotte County investigators and the Missing and Exploited Children Task Force.
The Nottoway Sheriff’s Office didn’t disclose the social media applications Dixon allegedly used to communicate with the 13-year-old, but the office said, “We urge parents to monitor their children’s social media app(lications).”
Carnal knowledge of a minor is a Class 4 felony, punishable by 2-10 years in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.