Kentucky kidnapping case moves to federal court

According to LEX 18 and other sources , A man accused of kidnapping a Kentucky teenager is now facing federal charges after investigators say he crossed state lines to pick up a 13-year-old girl he met online.

Court records from the Eastern District of Kentucky state that 37-year-old Christian Delgado was arrested on Dec. 26, 2025, at a residence in Silver Spring, Maryland. Authorities located the missing teen at the home after she had been missing for more than two months.

The investigation began on Oct. 14, 2025, when the Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office issued an endangered juvenile runaway alert. The girl was last reported seen in the Wolf Creek Road area of Orlando, Kentucky. About two weeks later, the U.S. Marshals Service joined the search efforts.

According to federal documents, Delgado met the juvenile through the mobile dating app PURE.

On Dec. 26, the teen contacted her aunt and shared her location with her. Law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service and Montgomery County Police, responded to the address and safely recovered the juvenile without incident.

This report was compiled using information gathered from law enforcement statements, official press releases and publicly available news sources.

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Investigators say Delgado claimed the teen was his “girlfriend” and told authorities they met online. He also allegedly admitted to driving from Florida to Kentucky to pick her up, taking her back to Florida for a short time, and later traveling with her to Maryland.

Delgado is now charged under federal law with traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He was first taken into custody on a state kidnapping warrant issued by Rockcastle County before the federal charges were filed.