A missing Berkeley teenager was found in Stockton early Wednesday morning, and police arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with her disappearance.
The 15-year-old girl was found in Lovepreet Singh’s Stockton home after Berkeley police obtained a warrant to search it, the department said in a release. The girl’s family reported her missing early Tuesday morning, and police said they subsequently learned she was possibly in Stockton.
Police arrested Singh in Emeryville at 12:46 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Alameda County jail logs. He was booked at the Santa Rita Jail just shy of three hours later, arrested on charges of child stealing and arranging/meeting with a minor for lewd and lascivious behavior.
Singh was subsequently arrested on the suspicion of statutory rape after continued investigation, police said.
Conviction on the arranging/meeting with a minor charge carries a maximum sentence of four years in state prison, while conviction on child stealing and statutory rape charges can each lead result in up to a year in county jail.
Singh will be arraigned in Oakland at 9 a.m. Friday.
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