Craig Nelson Ross Jr. kidnapped a 9-year-old child from a state park last year pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
According to WRGB, Craig Nelson Ross Jr. was guilty of first-degree kidnapping and predatory sexual assault against a minor in court on Wednesday.
On September 30, 2023, Ross Jr. grabbed the youngster while she was riding her bike in Moreau Lake State Park. He concealed her in a cabinet inside a camper at his mother’s house, and investigators discovered her less than 48 hours later.
Craig Ross Jr.’s fingerprints were tracked back to a ransom note he reportedly left in the girl’s family mailbox. The fingerprints matched a DWI case from 1999 in Saratoga, New York.
No emotion at all
According to The Times Union, Ross Jr. showed no emotion as he confessed to his crimes. He could face up to 47 years in prison, with 25 years to life for the kidnapping charge and 22 years to life for the sexual assault charge.
Craig Ross Jr. accepted a plea deal, which prevented him from going to trial on April 8. If he had gone to trial, the girl may have had to testify against him. He is expected to be sentenced on April 17 and is being held without bail at the Saratoga County Jail.
According to WTEN, the prosecution had a strong case against Ross Jr., with Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Buckley citing “over 2,000 photos, hundreds of body camera and surveillance videos, emails, radio transmissions, and witnesses” as proof.
The girl’s family thanked everyone who helped her get back safely. They thanked the “FBI, the New York State police, all of the agencies that were mobilized, all of the families, friends, community, neighbors and hundreds of volunteers.”
They also said that they were “thrilled that she is home, and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets.”
Ross Jr. was previously arrested in April 2017 for a physical domestic dispute, in addition to his 1999 DWI conviction, which resulted in a fine and a 90-day suspension of his driver’s license.