Multiple agencies investigating cases against Dover man who took girl from Georgia

NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (July 29, 2024) – The Dover man arrested last week for taking a 12-year-old girl from Georgia will remain in the Tuscarawas County Jail while authorities investigate charges and determine which jurisdictions will handle them.

Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said last week that 34-year-old Antonio Agustin could eventually face charges of kidnapping and sex crimes after he drove to Gainesville, Georgia, in May and took the 12-year-old to Ohio to be his girlfriend.

Last Thursday they were spotted together at Dover Pool. Authorities arrested Agustin and returned the girl safely home a short time later.

Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Capt. Adam Fischer says he’s working on a report for the district attorney here, while officials in Hall County, Georgia, are working on a report there.

Agustin is currently being held on a charge of interfering with custody out of Georgia. Fisher says it will be a complicated process, but Agustin will have a court hearing in Tuscarawas County before being sent to Georgia.

Additionally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would like to speak with Agustin, who, like the girl, is a Guatemalan citizen. Fisher said he did not know Agustin’s citizenship status.

According to him, authorities still have many steps to take before they can determine where Agustin will be tried, or where he will serve a prison sentence, or what role a possible deportation order will play in that.

Campbell Friday said the girls drove back to Georgia with four police officers who came to Dover to work the case. He said she would be reunited with her father.

Case raises question of

The case has sparked debate on a range of topics, from internet safety to immigration enforcement and cultural norms.

Both Agustin and the girl are from Guatemala. Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell says the girl in this case is very young, but he sees too many men dating girls in the local Guatemalan community.

“Some in the culture support relationships with very young girls. It’s not uncommon and it needs to be very uncommon because it’s very illegal,” Campbell said. Agustin “could almost go to prison for the rest of his life.”

Fisher praised the efforts of investigators to find the girl, who had online contact with Agustin and disappeared in May, saying they have followed up on about 500 leads since then.

“Detectives from Georgia traveled through Florida, to South Carolina, to Texas following these leads, and ultimately, of course, to Ohio,” he said.

“The coordination should not go unnoticed. The cooperation between law enforcement agencies, even when they work across state lines, should not go unnoticed and should speak volumes about how dedicated law enforcement professionals are to cases like this and others.”

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