Man arrested after disappearance of Hall County girl appears on court
Antonio Augustin (Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office)
HALL COUNTY, Ga. - The man accused of taking a 12-year-old Hall County girl to his Ohio home has pleaded not guilty.
Antonio Agustin-Ailon was indicted for rape, gross sexual imposition, pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person and interference with custody by a grand jury in Tuscarawas County.
The 34-year-old man is accused of meeting a 12-year-old Gainesville girl online and eventually taking her to Dover, Ohio, where he lives, around May 29, when the girl was last seen. The girl’s disappearance sparked a nearly two-month search and made local, regional and national headlines.
The girl eventually contacted her family through Facebook Messenger, telling them she was "OK" and for them to stop looking for her. Detectives were able to track the IP address used in those messages to a phone in Ohio.
Four sheriff's investigators then traveled to Ohio and spotted the missing girl and suspect at a city swimming pool on July 25. Law enforcement officials followed them to a nearby store, where he was taken into custody, and she recovered safely.
Prosecutors initially wanted Agustin-Ailon to be extradited to Georgia to face charges, but prosecutors believe the more serious crimes occurred in Ohio, where most of the witnesses to those crimes are.
Georgia prosecutors say they will move forward with filing relevant charges in Hall County, likely through a Grand Jury presentation, as Tuscarawas County proceeds with its case.
Agustin-Ailon appeared in court on Wednesday morning. He will continue to be held without bail and his next court date is Sept. 17. That is when his pre-trial conference will take place.
This story is being reported from Georgia. Due to the new charges filed in this case, FOX 5 is no longer identifying the girl in this case.