Missing teen found hiding in convicted sex offender’s closet in Florida
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A missing 17-year-old girl was found hiding in the closet of a convicted sex offender in Florida, leading to the man’s arrest on multiple charges, authorities said Tuesday.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Polk County detectives went to the home of 30-year-old Alexis Diaz-Toledo on Monday after receiving a tip from Orange County deputies that a runaway teenager might be with a man in Dundee.
Diaz-Toledo initially told investigators he hadn’t seen the girl in several days and denied knowing her whereabouts, according to the sheriff’s office.
He also initially refused to allow detectives to search his home, authorities said.
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Alexis Diaz-Toledo, 30, was arrested and charged with two counts of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements, harboring a minor without notifying the parent and other charges. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office)
Detectives later determined that Diaz-Toledo violated sex offender registration requirements by failing to report that two vehicles were kept at his home.
When investigators eventually searched her home, authorities said detectives found the missing girl hiding in her bedroom closet.
Polk County deputies received a tip from deputies in Orange County that a runaway teenager might be at an area home and led detectives to Diaz-Toledo’s home, authorities said. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office, File)
The sheriff’s office said the teen was returned safely to his family, without providing details on how he got to Diaz-Toledo’s home.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd highlighted concerns about the suspect in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“A 30-year-old male sex offender is not the kind of person you want to give a place to to a 17-year-old girl,” Judd said. “I can assure you that Alexis Diaz-Toledo did not have the missing teenager’s best interests in mind. Suffice it to say, we have given Alexis a place to stay in the Polk County Jail for a period of time.”
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Diaz-Toledo was arrested and charged with two counts of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements, interference with the custody of a minor, harboring a minor without notifying a parent, and providing false information to law enforcement during a missing person investigation.
Diaz-Toledo has been a registered sex offender since his 2014 conviction for lewd and lascivious battery of a minor, the sheriff’s office said. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office, File)
Diaz-Toledo remained in custody as of Wednesday and was ineligible for bail, according to online jail records.
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Diaz-Toledo has been a registered sex offender since his 2014 conviction for lewd and lascivious battery involving a child between the ages of 12 and 15, the sheriff’s office said.
