Private Detective: Second Arrest Made in Human Trafficking Ring

Deputies have made a second arrest in a suspected human trafficking ring uncovered last month, accusing a man of abducting, raping, beating and then holding a mother against her will for several days.

Marqui “Marc” Montez Church, 29, of Lake City, Fla., was charged Thursday with kidnapping, false imprisonment, sexual assault and assault — all felonies — after a distraught woman was found wandering March 7 on the side of the road in rural Columbia County, four days after she went missing. Church was booked into the Columbia County Facility where he’s being held without bond.

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The victim’s sister reported her missing March 5 when she didn’t return after borrowing the sister’s car to help a friend move two days earlier, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. The victim wasn’t picking up her phone, money was missing from bank accounts, and she had missed a birthday for her 5-year-old daughter, whom she’s rarely away from, her sister told investigators.

Deputies searched several locations where her cellphone was tracked but found no signs of the victim or her sister’s car, according to an arrest report. When deputies tried to reach her on the phone, a man’s voice answered several times and then hung up.

On March 7, the victim was found in distress on the side of a road in the northeast part of the city, saying she had been kidnapped, beaten and raped, according to the report.

She had gone to help with the move of her friend, identified in the report as “Jackie,” and left her sister’s car parked at Jackie’s home, the victim told investigators. The pair had traveled to an unidentified house to sell some lawn equipment when three men ambushed the victim, forcing her into a tan car with tinted windows.

They took her to an unknown home where the men repeatedly beat and raped her over several days until one morning she escaped, the victim told investigators. She was treated for soreness to her neck and the back of her head where they had struck her several times and given a rape kit, according to the report.

She told investigators that she overheard the suspects repeatedly calling out the name “Church.” He became a person of interest and later a suspect when investigators found he had been using the victim’s cell phone, deputies said.

On March 8, the victim’s sister’s vehicle was found along with three suspects, including Church. He was allegedly carrying the credit card of the victim’s sister and the victim’s phone when he was taken into custody.

Afterward, deputies obtained a search warrant for a home, and James Lauvalle Harris was one of two people found inside when deputies raided. The victim later identified Harris, 21, as one of the men who helped kidnap her and hold her captive, deputies said.

During questioning, Harris told investigators the victim had pleaded with her captors to let her go, saying she wanted to get back to her children. Harris alleged that Church had been selling the victim’s body for $20 to $30, and he kept the victim and others captive by threatening to hurt them if they didn’t do what he ordered.

Harris, who was arrested last month, faces charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, sexual battery, theft and maintaining a home for illegal activities, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. He remains in custody on $325,000 bond.

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