Man Lures 9-Year-Old With Pet Dog, Strangles And Sexually Assaults Her In Locked Basement

A 42-year-old Indiana man has admitted that he lured a 9-year-old girl to his apartment using his pet dog, where he strangled and sexually assaulted the girl while she was kept locked in his basement.

James Brian Chadwell II of Lafayette pleaded guilty to all charges against him including attempted murder, two counts of child molestation, kidnapping, criminal confinement, battery with serious bodily injury, and strangulation, WTHR reported.

The unidentified victim who went missing from her home on April 19, 2021, was rescued from Chadwell's home located in the 700 block of Park Avenue, around a one-minute walk from the child's home.

A witness told the police that Chadwell had made comments about seeing the girl after she was reported missing. When police approached him, Chadwell initially told them that the girl had come to his apartment but she already left. Police then searched his apartment and found the victim naked and bruised from a dog bite inside a locked basement.

The police bodycam footage of the rescue was “so graphic most people who observed it have sought mental health treatment,” prosecutors told the court.

An investigation revealed that Chadwell tried to strangle the child before sexually assaulting her. He hit the child's head multiple times when she tried to fight back and choked her till she passed out. The victim said she found herself with most of her clothes removed when she regained consciousness. Chadwell then took her into the basement where he forced her to perform sexual acts on him. He also threatened to kill the girl if she tried to scream or tell anyone about it, Law & Crime reported.

"As I told the mother, what this means today to her and her family, they can go home and tell the child involved in this case that she can rest tonight, knowing she's safe," Patrick Harrington, the prosecutor said. Chadwell is expected to face 160 years in prison. "This man will never be in a position to get out of prison or to hurt her again," Harrington added.

Chadwell has been in jail since his arrest in April. He is scheduled to face sentencing on Dec. 16.