Crime

Kidnapper gets 60 years for abducting, sexually assaulting 13-year-old Texas girl

An Arlington man was sentenced to 60 years in prison after a Tarrant County jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a child who he kidnapped from Honey Grove, Texas.
An Arlington man was sentenced to 60 years in prison after a Tarrant County jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a child who he kidnapped from Honey Grove, Texas. Courtesy: McClatchy Co.

A man was sentenced to 60 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing a 13-year-old Texas girl at his Arlington apartment, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said in a video statement Monday.

Nolan Neighbors was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was initially arrested on a charge of harboring a runaway before the charges were upgraded.

On June 14, 2022, 31-year-old Neighbors drove to Honey Grove, Texas, where he picked up the 13-year-old and drove her back to his apartment in Arlington, according to Assistant District Attorney Erika Staif.

Honey Grove is about 115 miles northeast of Fort Worth.

He sexually abused the child for three days at his apartment and kept the victim in a closet until Arlington police found them, Staif said in the video. An Amber Alert was issued during the search for the girl.

“The jury returned a swift guilty verdict, sending a message that we protect children in our community,” said Assistant District Attorney Deanna Franzen.

Authorities believed the teen and Neighbors were communicating online and arranged to meet each other, which is what brought them to Arlington, according to police.

The teen was reunited with her family after the Amber Alert.

Nicole Lopez
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nicole Lopez was a breaking news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 2023 to 2024.
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