Crime & Safety

Police: Norcross Teen Lied About Being Kidnapped by Church Members

The 19-year-old told Norcross officers that church members held her against her will and cut off her dress during Sunday service, but investigators spoke with witnesses and concluded she exaggerated the situation.

Norcross Police believe a 19-year-old lied about members of a local church kidnapping her and cutting off her dress as part of a religious ritual.

According to the original police report, the Norcross woman told investigators that she went to the Warehouse Church, a small, non-denominational congregation located at 6191 Atlantic Boulevard in the city, at 12:15 p.m. last week for Sunday service.

She immediately met with two church members, who escorted her to another room. They held her down while one of them removed her dress by cutting it with a pair of scissors, according to the report.

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Multiple church members joined in and began praying and pouring water on her, and they placed her in a shirt and sweatpants. She was kept in another room until the church service was over, and then she left.

Norcross Police followed up with other church members and witnesses, who said the 19-year-old is actually a previous member, not a regular church-goer of three years like she had told police.

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"She kind of got caught up in the wrong crowd," said Sgt. Bill Grogan, adding that she became involved in "some type of religion that's not something we typically have around here."

The teen showed up to the Warehouse Church "out of the blue" that Sunday and started to cause problems, Grogan continued. Some church members moved her from the common area to another room, where she started acting strange.

"We talked to several witnesses there, people at the church, who said it seemed like she was under the influence of something," according to Grogan. "She wasn't acting like herself or the self that they knew in the past."

She didn't come forward to police about the incident until the following day, when she appeared to be sober.

Grogan said the church members believed her clothing was disruptive, so they changed her clothes. The case is closed with no further investigation.

See also:

  • Inside the Police Reports: Catfight Over $300 Ensues at Greyhound Station
  • Police: Man Tells Woman He's Gotten Away With Rape

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