Mass. man and woman face kidnapping charge after teen tells police they locked her in a closet
Zachary Bedell, 24, and Alison Blauner, 31, have both been charged with kidnapping and witness intimidation in connection with the incident, according to the statement of facts in the case. Bedell was also charged with disseminating obscene material to a minor and buying alcohol for a person under 21.
Both Bedell and Blauner pleaded not guilty to all charges during their arraignments in Orange District Court on May 16, according to court records.
Orange police began investigating Bedell and Blauner after the teen's aunt asked them to do a welfare check on the girl at 13 Prospect St. Apt. 3 shortly after 3 a.m. on May 14, according to the statement of facts. They were soon informed that, while on the phone with the teen, a man and woman were heard telling the girl that she couldn't leave and threatening to throw her phone out the window.
When officers got to the scene, they heard shuffling inside the apartment and voices quieting down, according to the statement of facts. Shortly after they arrived, the teen's aunt called 911 again to tell police that, while on the phone with her, people could be heard whispering about not answering the door and saying 'that the officers will leave.'
Eventually, Bedell and Blauner answered the door and spoke to officers, telling them that the girl had left their apartment an hour and a half earlier, according to the statement of facts. Bedell initially told officers the girl was 19, but Blauner corrected him, saying that she was 16.
When pressed by police, Blauner told them the teen had just shown up at the back door of their apartment, according to the statement of facts. The girl then emerged from the rear of the apartment and was separated from Blauner and Bedell.
The teen told police she didn't feel safe in the apartment, according to the statement of facts. While at the scene, both the girl and Bedell made 'numerous odd statements' to officers, including that her mother gave permission for her to be there, and that Bedell and Blauner now had parental rights over her.
Orange police interviewed the teen at the police station while she waited for her mother to pick her up, according to the statement of facts. She told officers that she'd been communicating with Bedell via phone for four years, and on that night, he paid for an Uber to take her to his apartment.
Bedell also bought the teen at least five nips of alcohol to drink while she was there, and she drank three, according to the statement of facts. She showed police a nude photo of Bedell with the nips that she said he'd texted her before her arrival at the apartment.
The phone number from which the texts were sent matched the phone number police had on file as belonging to Bedell, according to the statement of facts. The teen told police that Bedell and Blauner did not let her leave the apartment when she decided she wanted to go.
When the girl told them she was going to call her friend or the police because they wouldn't let her leave, Blauner told her she would take her phone and throw it out the window, according to the statement of facts. When Bedell and Blauner saw through a window that officers were coming to their apartment, they 'put her in a closet to hide from police,' the teen said.
The girl told officers that she believes Bedell communicates with many underage girls via Discord and Instagram, according to the statement of facts. She also said she saw nude photos of underage girls she knows on Bedell's phone.
Bedell was arrested later that day and held on $50,000 cash bail until his arraignment, according to court records. He was released with conditions after posting $1,000 cash bail following his arraignment.
Blauner was also arrested later that day and held on $25,000 cash bail until her arraignment, according to court records. She was released with conditions after posting $1,500 cash bail following her arraignment.
Bedell's lawyer declined to comment on the case when reached by phone Thursday evening. Blauner's lawyer could not be reached by phone.
Both Bedell and Blauner are due back in court on July 21 for pretrial sessions, according to court records.
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