KARLI GASTON - 8 yo/ Accused: Benjamin Trihn - Federal Way WA

UPDATE: Amber Alert canceled for Federal Way girl


UPDATE: Authorities report that the girl has been found safe and returned home. The Amber Alert has been canceled.

EARLIER POST: An Amber Alert has been issued for an 8-year-old Federal Way girl who may have been abducted by an unknown young man.

Karli Gaston was last seen around 6:40 p.m. Monday at 2626 S.W. 327th St.

She is described as white, 3-1/2 feet tall, and 65 pounds, with brown hair and eyes.

Authorities said she may be with someone named “Ben,” a 24-year-old, 140-pound Pacific Islander. A silver vehicle is involved, but it’s unclear whether the girl entered the vehicle, the alert says.

Anybody with information should call 911 or the Federal Way Police Department at 253-372-1300.

Police: Man Admits To Raping 8-Year-Old In Amber Alert






5:24 pm PDT April 13, 2011

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- A man arrested in connection with the rape and kidnapping of an 8-year-old Federal Way girl confessed to taking the girl to his Tacoma home, where he raped her, according to probable cause documents. Federal Way police were called to the girl’s home on Monday for a report of a missing child. Her mother said she was last seen at a playground at Olympic View Elementary School.Witnesses said the missing girl was last seen in the presence of a Filipino or Asian man.

After an Amber Alert was issued Monday night, an employee at a Target store recognized the girl and description of the man, believed to be 28-year-old Benjamin Trihn, and called police. The employee remembered seeing the two in the store.

Officers used surveillance video to identify the girl and were able to track Trihn to his Tacoma home from a credit card transaction he made at the store, according to the documents.

Trihn was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of luring, kidnapping and child rape.

According to probable cause documents, Trihn waived his Miranda rights and allowed police to record a confession in which he said he watched pornographic movies and engaged in sexual acts with the child.

The missing child later returned home carrying a Scooby Doo DVD.

A letter that went home to parents at Olympic View Elementary said children had seen a man matching Trinh's description around for several days, speaking to, and sometimes taking pictures of, children.

Police said that was classic "grooming behavior."

Hope this POS spends the rest of his life in prison and gets a daily dose of rape. 8 years old OMG.

twinkletoes wrote:Hope this POS spends the rest of his life in prison and gets a daily dose of rape. 8 years old OMG.

Ditto! I doubt she is his first victim. It's amazing she was found and was still alive IMO. That doesn't happen very often in a stranger abduction. That's not too far from where Lindsey Baum went missing from. It looks like only about 50 miles away.

Bail set at $1M in rape of girl, 8


A 28-year-old Tacoma man was ordered held in the King County Jail on $1.million bail Wednesday, accused of luring, kidnapping and raping an 8-year-old Federal Way girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Monday.

A 28-year-old Tacoma man was ordered held in the King County Jail on $1.million bail Wednesday, accused of luring, kidnapping and raping an 8-year-old Federal Way girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Monday.

A King County District Court judge found probable cause to hold Benjamin Hoang Trinh on investigation of first-degree child rape, luring of a minor child and kidnapping.

According to court records, Trinh lured the girl away from a group of children playing at Olympic View Elementary School around 7 p.m. Monday. The girl and Trinh were later seen by an employee of a Federal Way Target store, who had received the Amber Alert on her cellphone.

Trinh allegedly took the girl to his Tacoma residence, where he photographed himself engaging in sex acts with the child and watched pornographic movies, the records say.

The girl later arrived home with a Scooby Doo DVD, which police later learned Trinh had purchased at the Target store, the records say.

Police identified him from store surveillance videos and from his credit-card transaction, according to court records.

He was known around the Federal Way playground as “Ben,” and the
children who played there after school believed he took pictures of kids
for the school’s yearbook. Those were some of the new details
released in court documents Friday as a 28-year-old Tacoma man was
charged with kidnapping an 8-year-old Federal Way girl from the Olympic
View Elementary playground early this week – an incident that spawned a
nationwide Amber Alert.Benjamin H. Trinh told police he started
talking with the girl at the playground about two weeks prior to
kidnapping her, according to the Federal Way police probable cause
statement. After the abduction Monday, he spent several hours with the
girl. They ate, shopped and swam together at a University Place pool –
then he raped her at his South Tacoma residence, according to the
document.King County prosecutors charged Trinh on Friday with first-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation.
When asked Friday why Trinh wasn’t charged with child rape,
prosecutor’s office spokesman Dan Donohoe said the investigation is
continuing.Trinh remains in custody at the Regional Justice
Center in Kent in lieu of $1 million bail. He is scheduled to be
arraigned at 9 a.m. April 25 at the justice center.According to
new details Friday, Trinh told police he drove the girl to the
drive-thru at the McDonald’s restaurant on South 348th Street in Federal
Way, to the Target store in The Commons at Federal Way, and then to his
home.At his house, the girl changed into a bathing suit he
bought her at Target and they then went swimming at Bally Total Fitness
in University Place, police said. Trinh took her back to his house and
committed sex acts with the girl, according to police.Police said
they found videos in Trinh’s house of young girls performing sex acts.
It’s not clear who those girls are. Authorities have said they’re not
aware of any other local victims, and no families have come forward, but
a police spokeswoman said they have suspicions and will continue to
collect evidence.An Amber Alert was issued Monday night for the girl after she was reported missing from the school playground around 7:10 p.m.A
witness told police Trinh was talking with the girl and several other
children prior to her walking with a man away from the school at 2626
S.W. 327th St.The Amber Alert was canceled after the girl walked home around 10:30 p.m. Monday.Trinh is not a registered sex offender and has no prior offenses other than one theft conviction, police said.He
was arrested Tuesday because a clerk at the Target store saw a picture
of the girl and read the description of the suspect from a TV news alert
link sent via text message to her cellphone, police said.The
employee recognized the girl in the Amber Alert as having been in the
store with the suspect. Police were contacted Monday night.Trinh
and the girl were recorded together on store security video. He was
identified by a purchase he made with a credit card at the store.Police
said three hours and 22 minutes elapsed from the time Trinh walked into
Target with the girl until he dropped her off near her house and she
walked home.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/04/16/1628295/alleged-kidnapper-known-at-fway.html#ixzz1JgHzpXKT

Kiwi, I keep missing you on main blog.

I did call. They had already received a call regarding connecting the two. I haven't heard or read anything about whether or not they have done anything. Guess that will take time.

Tacoma resident Benjamin H. Trinh,
28, was officially charged Friday after kidnapping an 8-year-old
Federal Way girl last week from a playground near Olympic View
Elementary. The incident caused a statewide Amber Alert.King
County prosecutors charged Trinh with first-degree kidnapping with
sexual motivation. According to the prosecutor's office, a child rape
investigation is continuing. Trinh remains in custody at the Regional Justice Center in Kent in lieu of $1 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. April 25. According
to new details released in the charging papers Friday, Trinh told
police that after kidnapping the girl on the evening of April 11 from
the playground in the Twin Lakes area of Federal Way, he drove to the
McDonald's drive-thru on South 348th Street, then ate in the Secoma
Lanes parking lot before heading to the Target in The Commons Mall. While
at Target, Trinh bought the girl a swimsuit, sandals and candy, among
other things, according to the charging papers. After purchasing the
items, Trinh and the girl went to his home in Tacoma, where she changed
into the bathing suit and went swimming at Bally Total Fitness in
University Place, police said. Trinh then took her back to his house and
committed sex acts with the girl, according to police. Trinh admitted
to police during an interview last week to sexually assaulting the girl
and taking photos while doing so. Police said they
found several other videos and photos in Trinh's South Tacoma home of
young girls performing sex acts. It's not clear who the girls are, but
police are asking other families to come forward if they have any
suspicions. Trinh said he started talking to the
girl about two weeks prior to the kidnapping incident, according to
police. The charging papers said Trinh was known around the Olympic View
Elementary playground as "Ben," and several children believed that he
took photos for the school's yearbook. Police issued a statewide Amber Alert shortly after 7 p.m. April 11 after the girl's mother reported her missing. The
alert said the girl was last seen by her mother at 6:30 p.m. at Olympic
View. The alert was canceled when the 8-year-old walked up to the
family's home several hours later, around 10:30 p.m. According
to police, the third-grader came to the Olympic View playground,
accompanied by other children, earlier in the evening. Other children
noticed her talking with an Asian man who appeared to be in his 20s. Sometime
after that, the other children realized that both the girl and the man
were no longer in the area, according to police. The
girl's mother immediately reported her missing to police, who notified
the Federal Way School District. School district officials then
initiated a call to all Olympic View parents asking if anyone knew the
girl's location or had seen her. Police are
crediting an employee at the Federal Way Target store for the subsequent
arrest of Trinh on April 12 in Tacoma. Police used surveillance video
from the store, along with credit card receipts from things he bought
the girl, to locate his Tacoma address. The Target
employee, a mother herself, received the Amber Alert over her cell phone
April 11 and recognized the girl in the photo. The employee remembered
seeing the 8-year-old with an Asian man earlier in the evening around
the fitting rooms inside Target, according to police.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Tacoma-man-officially-charged-in-Federal-Way-1342764.php#ixzz1Jz77kq4a

Arraignment Monday for suspect in FedWay kidnapping, rape

April 24, 2011

Benjamin Trinh, the Tacoma man accused of abducting and raping an 8-year-old Federal Way girl, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Trinh is being held in jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

According to court records, Trinh lured the girl away from a group of children playing at Olympic View Elementary School around 7 p.m. on April 11. A statewide Amber Alert was issued for the missing girl.

The girl and Trinh were later seen by an employee of a Federal Way Target store, who had received the Amber Alert on her cellphone.

Trinh allegedly took the girl to his Tacoma residence, where he photographed himself engaging in sex acts with the child and watched pornographic movies, the records say.

The girl later arrived home with a Scooby Doo DVD, which police later learned Trinh had purchased at the Target store, the records say.

Police identified him from store surveillance videos and from his credit-card transaction, according to court records.

Trinh, 28, is charged with first-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation. His arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m.

Accused child rapist found competent to stand trial

Jun 3, 2011 at 4:54 PM PDT


Benjamin Trinh makes a court appearance at the King County Courthouse on April 27, 2011.

TACOMA, Wash. -- The man accused of kidnapping and assaulting an 8-year-old girl in Federal Way has been found competent to stand trial.

Benjamin H. Trinh was sent to Western State Hospital in April to undergo the evaluation before he enters a plea. He will be arraigned on Tuesday.

Trinh, 28, of Tacoma has been charged with first-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation in the April 11 incident.

According to the statement of probable cause, Trinh admitted to kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl, who disappeared while playing outside Olympic View Elementary School.

The kidnapping prompted an Amber Alert, and Trinh allegedly took the girl to a Target store and a swimming pool before taking her to his home in Tacoma where he raped her.

The Amber Alert was canceled after Trinh returned the girl to her home about 10:30 p.m. He was arrested the next day.

Trinh told investigators the girl was among the several children he'd befriended on the playground in previous weeks, the document said. Local parents said the man, whom they knew only known as "Ben," had been lurking around the playground, taking photos of children.

In Trinh's car, investigators found a loaded handgun, a spare magazine, handcuffs and tape.

His family told investigators he has struggled with unspecified mental issues.



http://www.komonews.com/news/local/123138698.html