A 40-year-old man has been accused of kidnapping a teenage girl whom he is believed to have impregnated months earlier.
Gary Day, from Cabot, Arkansas, was charged with two counts of child abduction and two counts of child enticement on Tuesday after 16-year-old Sophia Franklin went missing from her Wisconsin home, Dodge County court records show.
The teenager, who police say is three months pregnant, was reported missing to the Beaver Dam Police Department on Monday, police said in a statement Wednesday.
According to a legal filing on Tuesday, Franklin’s parents tried – and failed – to restrict her internet access to prevent the teen from talking to strangers online.
Franklin and Day met each other online in April last year, according to a criminal complaint. At one point, the defendant abducted the teen from her Wisconsin home and took her to Arkansas, where she stayed for months before returning home at an undisclosed time, the filing states.
In late January, Franklin's parents came across a conversation, which investigators believe was a fight between the girl and Day. The defendant, who was on probation, had stayed out past curfew and his ankle monitor was flashing, authorities claim.
At the time, Day was serving a 72-month probation sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree in May 2020, Independence County court records.
Day’s child was hospitalized with a fractured femur and injuries to the face and ears on September 19, according to prosecutors.
This week an Amber Alert was issued for Franklin with 25 investigators from the Wisconsin Department of Justice deployed alongside local police in an “all hands on deck” effort to find the girl.
Police also issued a warrant for his arrest for Day no-contact order for the defendant and the missing girl.
“We have been getting a lot of tips, and we’re following up on those tips,” Beaver Dam Police Chief John Kreuziger told the outlet.
“We thank the public for their help with the tips, and continue to report those tips to us, and then we’ll follow up on those tips. And the goal, at the end, is to bring her home.”
According to the complaint, Franklin was last seen at about 9 p.m. on Sunday at her residence near 4th Street and Beaver Streets in Beaver Dam.
Day was last seen at the teen's house around 7:48 a.m. the following day, police said.
On Monday morning, investigators believe the pair left together in the defendant’s vehicle.
Day was driving a 2014 Black Buick LaCrosse which was spotted with two different license plates – one registered to Arkansas (BBR 20L) and another to Pennslyvania (KGW 5186).
Authorities believe the defendant has been switching the license plates to avoid detection by law enforcement.
