New Mexico man who sexually exploited Ashtabula 12-year-old is headed to prison
CLEVELAND (WJW) — A New Mexico man who drove more than 1,600 miles from that state to kidnap and sexually exploit a 12-year-old Ashtabula girl was sentenced Monday, June 30, to 28 years in prison.
Joseph Gunter, 41, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in February to sexual exploitation of a child and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity, according to a news release from Carol Skutnik, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
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The 12-year-old girl was reported missing the morning of Sept. 21, 2023, according to the release. A witness told authorities the girl had been communicating via a social media app with a person from Albuquerque, later identified as Gunter.
Investigators said Gunter had been talking with the victim for months and the girl at one point deleted her account and made a new one to avoid him. Gunter reportedly found the new account and they began talking again.
The morning of Sept. 21, 2023, the girl was out walking when Gunter drove up next to her and ordered her to get into his vehicle, threatening her with a gun, reads the release. He then took her out of state.
When the girl didn't return home for two hours, her mother called deputies, the FOX 8 I-Team reported in 2023.
On the drive to New Mexico, they stayed at multiple hotels where he 'proceeded to physically assault and repeatedly raped her,' reads the release.
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License plate-reading cameras spotted Gunter's car in Kentucky about 10 hours after she was reported missing, Ashtabula County Sheriff William Niemi told the I-Team in 2023. The alert went out to law enforcement officers nationwide.
Authorities found Gunter's vehicle days later in Gray County, Texas, 'through a series of intensive and investigative efforts,' reads the release. They found the victim in his car as well as two firearms.
'We found her safe,' Niemi said. 'Thank God for that.'
Upon his release, Gunter will be supervised for the rest of his life. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $5,000 into a fund that assists victims of child sexual abuse and $10,000 into a fund that assists human trafficking victims.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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