Hunter
07/16/20
An Iowa City man has been taken into custody after allegedly harboring a runaway juvenile girl he is having an ongoing sexual relationship with.
According to police, they stopped 19-year-old Martiza Anderson of Sandusky Drive just after 1:30am Thursday on Pascha Parkway after they noticed his vehicle had a non-working brake light. A check of driving records showed his status as revoked for 90 days ending August 27th.
In Andersons’s vehicle was a runaway juvenile girl with whom he had an unserved no-contact order. The girl’s mother has made it clear that she doesn’t want the girl to be with Anderson, and alleges that the two are in an ongoing sexual relationship she doesn’t approve of.
The girl reportedly admitted to police that she and Anderson had been together since she ran away from home, and had gone so far as to sleeping outside factory buildings together to avoid returning home and ending her status as a runaway.
Anderson was taken into custody and charged with harboring a runaway against the wishes of a parent, and driving while license denied or revoked. If convicted on both charges, he faces a prison sentence of up to three years.