A former Fort Bragg soldier was sentenced to over 12 years in prison after admitting to investigators that he had intercourse with a 12-year-old girl and staged her kidnapping, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday.
G. Norman Acker III, who is the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced James Murdoch Peele of South Carolina was sentenced to 151 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan for transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
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Peele was arrested and charged with taking an unnamed 12-year-old Craven County girl from her home in October 2018 after he left a note at the home of the girl demanding $20,000 in exchange for her return, according to prosecutors. Peele was 19 at the time, according to the Military Times.
The Justice Department said Peele took the girl from her home to his parents’ home in South Carolina, then back to his barracks at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
“Back at Fort Bragg, Peele’s barracks roommate was present when Peele arrived with the minor shortly before noon. As the roommate later recounted to investigators, the minor stayed in the room as Peele left to meet his sergeant,” the Justice Department said. “Later, Peele returned and asked his roommate to turn up his music, which the roommate understood to mean that Peele planned to have sex with the girl behind a sheet that had been hung across the room for privacy. The roommate left, and the FBI arrived soon after.”
A forensic analysis found that Peele had recently had intercourse with the young girl, prosecutors said.
Investigators interviewed a friend of Peele’s, who was a fellow soldier at Fort Bragg, who said a week before the apparent kidnapping, Peele asked for a ride to his “girlfriend’s” house in New Bern, according to the DOJ.
“Peele had shown a photo of the victim and claimed that she was 18 years old. When they arrived, however, Peele instructed the friend to park at a vacant neighboring house, and Peele entered the home through a window,” the Justice Department said. “The friend also entered the room and became concerned about the girl’s age after noticing childlike décor, including middle school photographs and a hamster. The friend explained to investigators that he had become disgusted and left the room when Peele and the minor began kissing.”
After searching the victim’s Facebook page, investigators found that she described herself as Peele’s girlfriend. The girl admitted that she wasn’t kidnapped but denied coming up with the idea, the DOJ said. The girl also told them that she had revealed her true age to Peele.
After Peele was arrested, prosecutors said he taped a confession admitting to having sex with the victim. “He also admitted to writing the ransom note, although he stated that the victim had asked to leave with him and had come up with the idea of staging a kidnapping,” the Justice Department said. In addition, Peele said that he thought she was 18 years old, admitting, however, that he once saw her have a sleepover with other young girls, one of whom he saw to be 12.
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In March 2019, court documents show that a federal grand jury charged Peele with one count of knowingly transporting a person under the age of 18 across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense. He was also charged with knowingly engaging in a sexual act with a 12-year-old.
Peele received a plea deal, which remains under seal. The Washington Examiner contacted the district court for more information about the plea deal but did not immediately hear back.
