Marine charged with sexual assault after missing teen found at Camp Pendleton

A Marine based in California was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl who had been missing for more than two weeks when she was found in his barracks.

Military prosecutors slapped the Marine with sexual assault of a minor charges Friday, months after military police discovered the teenager holing up at Camp Pendleton on June 28, Capt. Charles Palmer of the 1st Marine Logistics Group said in a statement.

He was also charged with violating liberty restriction from an earlier, unrelated case.

Authorities will decide whether he will face a court-martial after a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 17.

The military declined to disclose any information on the Marines’ identity other than his gender.

Other details — such as when and how he met the teenager, how she got onto the base and how long she spent in the barracks — were still kept under wraps.

The teenager, who has learning disabilities, had been entered into multiple missing persons databases when she was discovered at the base, located 40 miles north of San Diego.

She had run away from home on June 9, but her grandmother waited another four days to call the police because the teen had a history of escaping the home, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.

This instance was different, however, as the girl typically returned after a few short days, cops said.

She was released to her grandmother, who accused the Marine of raping the girl while she was on the base.

Other relatives publicly speculated that she was sold by a sex trafficker.

“She was found in the barracks by military police. She had been sold to a soldier for sex,” her aunt Casaundra Perez said in a TikTok video about the case.

Perez accused the military of trying to cover up the alleged rape of her niece and said that the whole base camp is responsible.

“The reality is the whole facility allowed this to happen,” she said. “The security looked her in the face and allowed this man to bring a minor onto base, where he then proceeded to have sex with her. Due to her age, she could not have given this consent.”

The active-duty Marine was taken into custody by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services for questioning in early July but was released back to his command as the investigation continued.

How the missing teen snuck onto the military base also remains a mystery — all visitors are stopped by Marines at the entrance of the sprawling base and are required to show authorization to enter.

Marines are allowed to bring a visitor on base and into the barracks until a certain hour, which varies according to each building.

The sexual assault accusations come just four months after a married US Marine Corps recruiter who counseled sexual assault victims was charged with grooming and raping a 16-year-old Long Island girl.

Staff Sgt. Mason H. Wallace, 28, allegedly used the Longwood High School student’s interest in the military to spark the sick relationship.

The accused rapist sent the teenager depraved messages throughout his attempts to help enlist her in the military, the victim said.