Timothy D. Nelson Jr., Kidnapping And Aggravated Sexual Abuse Of Child, Pennsylvania 1999

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Predator Sentenced to 30 Years for Kidnapping and Aggravated Sexual Abuse of Child

PITTSBURGH – U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today that Timothy D. Nelson Jr., 50, of Cumberland, Maryland, was sentenced to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act on his conviction of kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse of a person under 12 years old.

On the afternoon of September 19, 1999, in a quiet neighborhood in Shade Township, Somerset County, an unknown man abducted a 10-year-old girl. He forced her to the floor of his car and transported her at gun point across the Pennsylvania state line into West Virginia, where he sexually assaulted her. He drove the minor victim back into Pennsylvania, abandoned her on a dirt road, and vanished. A couple driving by saw the child in distress and offered assistance. Law enforcement responded. The minor victim was able to direct law enforcement to the location of the sexual assault, where they found a discarded brown paper bag and napkin that had been used to clean up following the assault. Forensic examination found partial fingerprints and DNA. At that time however, there were no matching results in either the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) or the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database. In 2004, DNA from a different kidnapping and assault that occurred in September 1988 in Maryland was found to match the 1999 kidnapping in Somerset County. Still, the perpetrator was unknown. In Fall 2018, fingerprints re-submitted to the new fingerprint identification system – Next Generation Identification (NGI) identified Timothy David Nelson Jr. as the suspect.

“We are steadfastly committed to the safety and well-being of every child in western Pennsylvania and have made investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation a highest priority,” said U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. “Over the past several weeks, we brought multiple defendants to justice across our district. Going forward, we intend to build on those successes.”

The exploitation of vulnerable youth is a growing issue in our country and right here at home,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones. “These child predators think they can use the internet to have a sense of anonymity when they target these kids. I want to commend the hard work and dedication of all the agents who work these very important cases. They are among some of the toughest to work, but we hope these outcomes provide a small measure of justice for the victims who no doubt suffer lifelong damages from the actions of these child predators.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch of the Western District of Pennsylvania. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its Project Safe Childhood partners are committed to working together to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse.”

“We must protect our children, they are the most vulnerable and precious members of our community,” said Marlon V. Miller, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia. “HSI is committed to working with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and our other law enforcement partners to investigate and bring to justice predators who prey on children.”

Major Stephen K. Eberle, Area I Commander for the Pennsylvania State Police, added, “The Pennsylvania State Police are proud to work alongside our federal and local law enforcement and prosecution partners to protect our children from Internet predators in every form—those who have been convicted, those who are non-compliant, and those who have not yet been found.”

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