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Sheriff confronts Florida man accused of sexually assaulting 12-year-old Michigan girl
Peter Pejic, 22, returned to Michigan in handcuffs Tuesday night and was greeted by Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson.
GENESSEE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Florida man is in custody after he allegedly flew to Michigan to sexually assault a girl he met online.
Peter Pejic, 22, returned to Michigan in handcuffs Tuesday night and was greeted by Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson.
According to Swanson, Pejic met a 12-year-old Flint girl on Instagram and groomed her.
He's then accused of traveling to Michigan from West Palm Beach. Swanson said Pejic convinced the child to wait for him in a church parking lot late one night, took her to a hotel, and sexually assaulted her.
Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson confronts Peter Pejic
Swanson said he then returned to Florida. The investigation started when the child's guardians took her to a hospital for treatment.
The Genesee County GHOST team worked with authorities in Florida to figure out where Pejic lived and secure a warrant.
On Sunday, Pejic was taken into custody in Florida and flown back to Michigan, where Swanson met him at Detroit Metro Airport.
"It was just a simple direct message on Instagram which all of us use," said Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. "He convinced her he should come up and make a trade."
Swanson say there was no talk of romance or anything sexual for that matter. The trade had to do with something else entirely unrelated
"He convinced her that he would pay her in cryptocurrency, and she would use that for a gaming app," he said.
Authorities found out about the sexual assault nearly a month after it happened after the girl’s family took her to an area hospital for a medical evaluation.
Before he was arrested, Pejic is also accused of traveling to Washington to sexually assault a 16-year-old and Oregon to sexually assault a 14-year-old.
Sheriff Swanson stresses the importance of getting these predators off the streets quickly.
"Had we not arrested him it would have continued to go (on) and more people would have been assaulted," he said.
Swanson said the investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released when available.
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