{"id":47288,"date":"2026-04-11T04:02:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T04:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=47288"},"modified":"2026-04-11T04:02:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T04:02:31","slug":"stepfather-of-missing-19-year-old-arrested-for-sex-offenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=47288","title":{"rendered":"Stepfather of Missing 19-Year-Old Arrested for Sex Offenses"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The stepfather of a 19-year-old who vanished in Virginia more than a decade ago is now facing multiple sex-related offenses in relation to her and other victims, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

James Branton<\/strong> was arrested<\/a> on Friday, April 10, by Spotsylvania County detectives and Virginia State Police, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff\u2019s Office announced in a news release.<\/p>\n

Branton \u2014 who was the last individual to have seen his stepdaughter, Katelin Akens<\/strong> \u2014 is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery<\/a>, two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child in a custodial relationship, two counts of indecent exposure of a child, and two counts of child cruelty, WUSA reported.<\/p>\n

The charges relate to underage victims, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear whether Branton, 46, had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.<\/p>\n

Akens has been missing since December 2015, when she disappeared<\/a> at age 19, according to the sheriff\u2019s office\u2019s cold case database.<\/p>\n

She had been living in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, after growing up in Spotsylvania, Virginia, the sheriff\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

Before her disappearance, she had been in Spotsylvania and was due to board a flight to return to Arizona on December 5, 2015, according to authorities, WUSA reported.<\/p>\n

Akens\u2019 mother, Lisa Sullivan<\/strong>, took her to Branton\u2019s home before her flight because he was supposed to drop her off at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Sullivan previously told WUSA.<\/p>\n

Sullivan was never seen at the airport, according to the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer bank accounts were never used again\u201d after that day, the sheriff\u2019s office has said.<\/p>\n

Two days later, on December 7, 2015, Akens\u2019 suitcase was abandoned along the side of a road in Spotsylvania, according to authorities, and contained her ID card but was mostly empty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unknown who put the luggage there or why. As of this date, no one has seen Katelin Akens and no trace of her has showed up on bank accounts, social media or in any other way,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office said on its cold case database. \u201cHer stepfather was initially cooperative and has since then declined to assist with this investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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