Authorities in Tennessee arrested and charged a 30-year-old man with kidnapping a 10-year-old girl after he allegedly removed an air-conditioning unit from her bedroom window, dragged her into a wooded area, bound her to a tree, and pressed a knife against her throat.
Steven Devonte Harris faces two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, and attempted rape of a child following his arrest Wednesday evening.
According to a press release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the victim was “forcibly taken from her home” early Wednesday, then “threatened and assaulted” by Harris before she managed to escape.
She sought help from a nearby neighbor, whose quick actions helped save the child’s life, according to the agency.
The girl’s mother, Crystal Brown, told Nashville NBC affiliate WSMV that the intruder got into the house by ripping an air-conditioning unit out of her daughter’s bedroom window before pulling her through the window and dragging her into the woods.
Once in the woods, Harris allegedly used his belt to tie the girl to a tree. He then allegedly held a knife against her throat and threatened to rape her, according to a police report cited by Memphis NBC affiliate WMC.
The girl eventually freed herself and ran toward a nearby residence, where she reportedly sought help by communicating through a doorbell camera. Harris allegedly returned and caught up with the girl, pulling her behind the neighboring apartment, where he allegedly began strangling her.
Someone arrived at the apartment and interrupted the confrontation, honking their car horn and screaming for help. The girl’s aunt, who lives near the girl and her mother, then came outside carrying a spiked bat, prompting the man to run away.
A neighbor previously told Jackson ABC affiliate WBBJ that she woke up to loud noises and screaming around 12:50 a.m. and saw the girl running toward her aunt’s home. Emergency responders later took the child to a hospital for treatment.
Investigators reportedly recovered a belt, a vape, and a green sweatshirt from the wooded area where Harris allegedly took the victim.
Investigators said it did not take long for them to identify Harris as a person of interest in the case because of his involvement in prior events in the area.
“The key part of the evidence was that the TBI and FBI, as well as the Dyer County Sheriff’s Department and Newbern Police Department, were all searching the area, and they did find some items of interest that were mentioned by the victim,” District Attorney Danny Goodman told WBBJ. “Once we got those back, it kind of confirmed the suspect that we had in mind anyway. So, that was the key piece of evidence that let us know we were on the right track.”
Investigators submitted the physical evidence collected during the investigation to the TBI Crime Lab for DNA testing, including Rapid DNA processing, which came back as a match for Harris.
Detectives reportedly said that during an interview after receiving his Miranda rights, Harris appeared deceptive and provided inconsistent answers.
Harris was booked into the Dyer County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning, records show.
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