Girl, 17, was 'locked in a storage unit at gunpoint, injected with drugs and sexually assaulted'

A Houston man was arrested on Wednesday, accused of abducting a teenage girl and assaulting her over several days in late March. 

Joel Micah Arnold, 34,  allegedly kidnapped his 17-year-old female victim on March 27, according to the Precinct One Harris County Constable’s Office.

Arnold allegedly forced her to a storage facility in Cypress, where the girl was locked up for five days.

During that time, Arnold allegedly threatened her with a gun, injected undisclosed drugs into the victim, and sexually assaulted her.

Joel Micah Arnold (pictured above) has been arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault, and trafficking a child, all felony offenses

The storage unit is located in the 19100 block of FM 529 in Cypress. Police did not specify which storage unit in the area the victim was held at.

After five days being held captive, Arnold let his victim go, police said. A week later, the teen reported her ordeal to the Precinct One Human Trafficking Unit.

It’s not clear why the suspect chose to let the victim go or if there was any connection between them prior to the alleged kidnapping. 

Arnold has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault, and trafficking a child, all felony offenses.

Arnold, 34, allegedly locked his victim in a storage unit, injected her with drugs, and sexually assaulted her before letting her go after five days

Six days passed between the teen reporting the incident on April 8 and an arrest being made on April 14.

The Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigative Unit helped assist with Arnold’s arrest.

Investigators believe that there may be other victims besides the 17-year-old, whose name has not been released.

The Houston police has not released crime data for the month of March yet, but there were 31 reported kidnappings in the city through the end of February.