North Carolina man kept child as sex slave and raped her for 5 years, shocked neighbors say he was 'friendly'
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA: A 31-year-old man, Anthony Nealy, was arrested on October 9 after being accused of repeatedly raping a girl under the age of 12 since January 2015, according to a warrant that was procured by the media. Kings Mountain neighborhood was in for a shock when the disgusting case of human trafficking was revealed.
According to Fox News, the arrest warrants indicated that the abuse began in January 2015 and went on till September of this year. A neighbor who was close to the family was quoted as saying the investigation into the abuse took place when the minor girl reported about what happened at home to a school counselor.
One neighbor said, "He seemed so friendly, you know what I’m saying. He helped my fiancé mow grass, he’d help him weed eat around the yard." Nealy is currently being held in the Cleveland County jail on a $500,000 bond. All of the alleged suspect's neighbors did not want to be named but did register their shock at something this gruesome taking place right next door. Another neighbor said, "I couldn’t believe that was our neighbor, you know what I’m saying? He lived right next door and was doing something like that to a child."
According to court records, Nealy has been charged with five felony counts, which also includes rape of a child by an adult, human trafficking of a child victim, statutory sex offense with a child by an adult, sexual servitude of a child victim and child abuse. A woman neighbor from Kings Mountain said she often saw Nealy walk with his victim up and down the road to go to school. She said, "They’ve got toys outside and everything in the backyard. They’ve got bikes and all kinds of stuff out there but you don’t never see them come outside any day of the week."
It was also reported that Nealy had appeared in court via video on Monday and requested Cleveland County District Court Judge Meredith Shuford for a bond reduction. However, the judge reportedly said, "I’m not going to modify your bond today," and records indicate that he is expected to appear back in court on October 29.
Just days ago, in another case of child abuse, a North Carolina preschool part-time helper Elizabeth Renee Mills, 19, was charged with assault and child abuse. According to media reports, authorities claimed that she repeatedly pinched three 1-year-old children and was arrested by King Police. The warrant states that Mills was charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault on a child and three counts of misdemeanor child abuse. She has been released from custody on her written promise to appear in court on November 17.