UPDATE: A 14-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by a North Las Vegas man described what happened to her.
Jimmy Carter Kim was arrested Thursday night on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault.
In an arrest report, the girl told police that she ran away from her home and was walking to a friend's house when she said a man in a white van offered to give her a ride to her friend's. She told police that the man gave her a pipe with marijuana in it and said the next thing she remembered was waking up in Las Vegas.
According to the report, she told police that she was forced to have sex with the man for one month while locked in his bedroom. She said there were cameras watching her when he left the residence and he locked the bedroom door from the outside.
The 14-year-old told police she never left because she was "too scared to leave" after the man allegedly showed her a gun and placed his hand around her throat several times, according to the arrest report. But last Thursday, she told police she was able to unlock the door with a pair of scissors and grab a phone from inside the home.
She was able to identify the home she left and said that Kim had a badge with his name on it.
According to the arrest report, Kim said he met the girl at the Academy of Hair Design and told police he took her in because "he wanted to be a good citizen." He said he locked her in the room so she wouldn't steal anything. According to the arrest report, he denied having sex with her and also denied that he was in Arizona the month before.
Kim's bail was set for $680,000 Monday during his first court appearance.
Kim's father, Dennis, said outside court that this couldn't have been his son.
"I don't know what has really happened to my son," he said. "What's really he did. To me, I didn't see anything wrong."
Dennis said he saw a girl at the house before his arrest but it didn't seem suspicious.
"He text me," his father said. "He said daddy I'm sorry. I apologize. That's my girlfriend. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Dennis added that after his son's arrest, investigators took computers, a car, and bags filled with others things around the house.
ORIGINAL STORY
North Las Vegas police said a 14-year-old girl was held captive for a month before she was able to escape and contact police.
During a news conference Saturday, North Las Vegas police said 26-year-old Jimmy Carter Kim was arrested on charges of first degree kidnap of a minor and 20 counts of sexual assault.
The girl from Arizona was able to escape on Thursday and police said they arrested Kim about four hours later during a traffic stop. The teen called police from a store near Camino Al Norte and Washburn Road.
Jimmy Carter Kim's father, Dennis Kim, sat down with Action News Saturday afternoon in defense of his son. They’ve lived in the same house for over a decade.
"Jimmy did not kidnap her," he said. "I still support him 100 percent."
Dennis has had a very chaotic last few days, beginning early Friday morning around 2 a.m. when he woke up to police banging on his front door.
"I said, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming."
They came to tell him that they arrested his son just hours before their arrival. Dennis tells Action News that his son has always had “a lot of girlfriends.”
He says, "They come here voluntarily."
Dennis says he’s even met some of them.
"Sometimes I see them sitting here watching TV," he says.
He took our Action News crew to the second floor of the home where his son has three bedrooms. He showed all of them including one where he says he saw Jimmy's last girlfriend sleeping Wednesday night.
"I cracked the door, I saw something, and I closed it right away."
But the door to that particular bedroom wasn’t just any door. It locked from the outside only. While Dennis admits the reversed-lock is peculiar, he pointed out a window that makes for an easy escape if you don't mind a long jump. Dennis said he believes the young girl ran away from her home in Arizona, and now wants to go back without consequences from her parents.
As for her age, he says, “I told him many times. Not underage."
In searching the home, investigators found evidence that suggests the 14-year-old girl may not be the only victim.
Witnesses or potential victims are asked to call the North Las Vegas Police Department at 702-633-9111 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
