11-year-old girl contracts STD after Springfield man kidnapped her, police say

An 11-year-old girl from Republic tested positive for chlamydia a few weeks after a Springfield man kidnapped her in July, police say.

Joseph Meili, 21, first made contact with the girl using an app called "Meet Me" early in the morning of July 16, according to police.

The girl allegedly used her mother's phone to exchange messages — including her address in Republic — to Meili.

The alleged kidnapping is described in a probable cause statement, which says Meili drove to her house that morning, picked her up in a red car and drove to a Springfield apartment.

The statement said the 11-year-old fell asleep while at the apartment and woke up, feeling as though something sexual had happened.

According to the statement, the girl later told investigators that Meili had removed her clothing before raping her. 

Investigators allegedly found semen on the girl's underwear.

While the girl was being sexually assaulted, police say, a search was underway to find her.

Officers, firefighters and sheriff's deputies knocked on doors, searched nearby woods, and attempted to locate the girl by pinging her cellphone.

A probable cause statement filed by Republic police said the 11-year-old was found back in her bedroom late that night, packing a bag to leave again.

The girl allegedly told police that she had been dropped off by Meili.

Police spoke with Meili over the phone, the statement said, and Meili claimed he had no idea what the officer was talking about.

"I'm freaking out," Meili allegedly said.

According to the statement, Meili said he did meet up with a girl, but her page on "meet Me" showed that she was 18 years old.

Meili said he wanted to tell the officer his side of the story, and agreed to meet up at a McDonald's. The next day, Meili left a voicemail for a detective, saying he no longer wanted to talk, the statement said.

Acting on information from Meili's roommates, officers arrested Meili for child kidnapping at a Fuddruckers, the statement said.

Meili has been charged with child kidnapping, statutory sodomy and statutory rape, court records show. He was being held in the Greene County Jail on a $50,000 bond, but has since posted that bond, according to online records.

Meili's attorney, Dee Wampler, declined to comment on his client's case.