A 42-year-old man accused of abducting a Moreno Valley girl for sex trafficking was charged Wednesday with kidnapping to commit rape and other offenses.
Chance Loraine Willis of Gardena was arrested Saturday following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation.
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Along with the kidnapping count, Willis is charged with trafficking of a minor for sex and pandering.
He's being held on $250,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and was slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to sheriff's Sgt. James Merrill, at about 7:15 a.m. Saturday, patrol deputies were alerted to an abduction involving a teenage girl who agreed to meet a man in the 12000 block of Frederick Street in Moreno Valley.
"The investigation revealed the girl had met the adult male near the location, (and) he coerced her to travel to the city of Gardena against her will," Merrill said.
The alleged perpetrator was identified within hours as Willis, and detectives were able to confirm that he had taken the victim to Los Angeles County, Merrill said.
He said investigators enlisted the help of Gardena police, who tracked the defendant and girl to South Western Avenue. The defendant was taken into custody without incident, and the victim was found apparently unharmed. She was returned to Moreno Valley.
It was unclear how Willis and the girl met, or in what way he allegedly intended to compel her to perform sexual services.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
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