Man arrested in connection to 12-year-old Gainesville girl to remain in Ohio for now
Antonio Augustin (Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office)
HALL COUNTY, Ga. - The suspect arrested last week in connection with the disappearance of Maria Gomez-Perez, 12, from Gainesville will remain in the custody of authorities in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, for the foreseeable future, according to Hall County Sheriff's Office.
Antonio Agustin-Ailon, 34, a Guatemalan national living in Dover, Ohio, was taken into custody on July 25 after Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) investigators found him with the missing girl in Dover. Agustin-Ailon had traveled to Gainesville to take the victim back to his residence in Ohio.
PREVIOUS STORY: Maria Gomez-Perez found safe in Ohio, Guatemalan national arrested
The investigation revealed that Agustin-Ailon took Gomez-Perez from Gainesville on May 29, the day she was last seen at her residence. "After consultation with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and the elected county prosecutor in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, we have determined it best to delay extradition to Hall County," said Lee Darragh, District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia. "Based on the information we have at this time, the most serious criminal offenses in this case occurred in Ohio, and the bulk of necessary witnesses even to prove a Hall County case are in Ohio. It makes sense that the suspect answer to what charges Ohio proceeds on first."
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch agreed with the DA’s decision. "My primary goal in this case is to see justice done. If that means we have to wait for this suspect to have his day in court in Ohio before he faces our charges, so be it. I just want to make sure he has no chance of luring another young girl from home, wreaking havoc on another community like he did ours," said Sheriff Couch.
The DA’s office indicated it will move forward with filing relevant charges in Hall County, likely through a Grand Jury presentation, as Tuscarawas County proceeds with its case.
How did investigators find Maria Gomez-Perez?
Investigators believe that the girl had been talking with Agustin and other adult men for a while on Facebook Messenger and other apps.
"Maria had indicated that she was unhappy, and she would like to leave home," Couch said.
Couch said a breakthrough in the case happened when Gomez-Perez contacted her father on Facebook Messenger on a new account, telling him that she was OK and that he should 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 traveled to Ohio this week and spotted Gomez-Perez at a city swimming pool. Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Capt. Adam Fisher told FOX 5 that Augustin was arrested, and Gomez-Perez was recovered after Augustin drove the two from the pool to a Walmart in neighboring New Philadelphia.
Gomez-Perez was interviewed with the assistance of a child advocacy center and an interpreter. She was also taken to Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, Ohio, for a wellness check.