The Brief A Virginia man is charged in connection to the 2022 abduction of a Milwaukee girl. The victim is back home, and her family is now finding a path forward. Victim advocates said, in these situations, post-traumatic stress disorder is common.



A Virginia man is in custody, charged in connection to the 2022 abduction of a Milwaukee girl. The victim's family is now finding a path forward.

Criminal charges

The backstory:

The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office charged 37-year-old Owen Anderson of Virginia with kidnapping, child enticement and abduction of a child.

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FOX6 News called the law firm that represents Anderson. They said they had  no comment  regarding the case.


The victim was 15 years old when prosecutors said Anderson convinced her to leave her home in Milwaukee's Brewers Hill neighborhood and run away in 2022. He is accused of arranging a ride to get her to Chicago and then dumping her cellphone and taking her out of state.

Over the roughly four years she was missing, investigators said Anderson physically and sexually abused the girl and refused to let her attend school. The victim was found after out-of-state officers responded to a domestic dispute.

Help for victims

What they're saying:

As the victim's family awaits justice in court, the priority is getting the victim the resources she needs and deserves. Victim advocates said, in these situations, post-traumatic stress disorder is common.

 Everything she thought life was supposed to be changed, and it changed because she, like a lot of young people, did something she thought was completely harmless: talking to somebody online,  said Dr. Debbie Lassiter, Convergence Resource Center CEO and founder.  (It) is dangerous because you really don't know who is on the other end of that conversation. 

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What you can do:

Convergence Resource Center is a nonprofit that helps women rebuild after trauma, especially human trafficking surviv

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