PROVIDENCE -- A 27-year old New Jersey man has been arrested and charged with a sex crime for picking up a teenage girl in Portsmouth on Wednesday and driving her back to his apartment.
An affidavit filed this afternoon in U.S. District Court, written by FBI agent Michael P. Luizzi, charges Daniel K. Berger, of 115 Ringwood Ave., of Haskell, N.J. with transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. .
The girl, Kathryn Botelho, 13, was the subject of a massive manhunt on Wednesday after her mother reported her missing from the condominium development where she lived in the shadows of the Mount Hope Bridge. A witness on a landscaping crew said he saw the girl leave with a man in a maroon car.
The authorities developed information that led them to Berger's apartment building in Haskell which is close to the New York state line. At 12:30 a.m., according to the affidavit, FBI agents knocked on the door of Berger's apartment. Botelho, who appeared disheveled, cried, "Please help me.''
The agents questioned a man in the apartment who told them that Berger, his roommate, brought the girl to their room.
Outside the apartment building, Berger's roommate pointed out a maroon Toyota Camry that was circling the area. The car was registered to Berger.
FBI agents stopped the car and arrested him, the affidavit says.
Berger told the agents that he had contact with Botelho through "online chats'' and text messaging.