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Beaumont man police say hid runaway Vidor teen in late 2022 now indicted on child sex assault charges

Police say he volunteered in the search for the 14-year-old girl who had been missing for more than three weeks.

BEAUMONT, Texas — A 44-year-old Beaumont man who helped search for a missing 14-year-old Vidor girl by handing out fliers while police say he was hiding her in a Beaumont home has been indicted on child sex assault charges.

John David Allen III, 44, of Beaumont, was indicted last week by a Jefferson County Grand Jury on sexual assault of a child, sexual performance of a child and possession of child pornography charges.

"His indictment will protect the children of our community going forward," Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll said of the charges,

"One of the keys is we need to do a better job protecting our children from these predators," Carroll said. "I would like to thank the Jefferson County DA’s office and the Jefferson County sheriff’s office in bringing this predator to justice”

The teen, who police had described as a runaway, was found in December,  2022, with Allen in a Beaumont home according to file stories.

Allen told police during the search for the girl that he did not know where she was and even helped hand out missing person fliers to try to find her.

Allen was later arrested by Vidor officers with help from Orange and Jefferson County deputies and Child Protective Services a few days later.

Police acted on a tip and found Allen and the runaway girl in the home.

Police in Vidor had been looking for the 14-year-old girl since she was reported missing from her home. nearly three weeks earlier.

This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.

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