A 27-year-old Maryland man is facing rape and human trafficking charges after investigators say he drove a missing 14-year-old girl from her home in Hagerstown, Maryland, across the state line to a hotel in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, where he allegedly assaulted her. Jeremy Spikes Jr. was taken into custody by Maryland authorities on Wednesday and is now awaiting extradition to face charges in Pennsylvania.
The Charges Against Spikes
According to court documents cited by Fox43, Spikes was charged with rape, trafficking in individuals, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and interference with custody of children.
How Investigators Pieced the Case Together
Hagerstown Police told Pennsylvania State Police on Monday that they had recently located the missing 14-year-old girl, per state police, after she had gone missing and turned up back in Maryland. Investigators with the Chambersburg Criminal Investigation Unit determined that Spikes had taken the victim from her Maryland home across state lines into Pennsylvania and that he forcibly raped her in an unidentified hotel in Franklin County, according to the investigation.
The Chambersburg unit operates under Pennsylvania State Police Troop H, which covers Franklin County and handles major crimes including homicides, sexual assaults and human trafficking cases.
A Corridor Long Watched for Trafficking
Franklin County sits along Interstate 81, which links Hagerstown to Chambersburg over roughly 23 miles of a highway that stretches 855 miles overall and is monitored by federal and state authorities for human trafficking and narcotics movement, according to the U.S. Department of State. The corridor has seen this kind of case before: in March 2015, federal prosecutors indicted six men in Chambersburg for running a ring that trafficked girls ages 13 to 18 across seven states, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Extradition Still Pending
Spikes remains in Maryland custody while officials work through the transfer process to Pennsylvania. Moving him to Franklin County will require either a voluntary waiver or a Governor's Warrant issued within 30 days under Pennsylvania's Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, according to PA Legal Blog.
Potential Penalties If Convicted
If convicted on the rape charge, Spikes would face up to 20 years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration under Pennsylvania's Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, according to Shuttleworth Law. The trafficking count carries even steeper exposure: trafficking a minor for sexual servitude is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 40 years, rising to 50 years if it's found to be part of an ongoing course of conduct, per the CSE Institute.
Because the alleged crime involved moving a minor across state lines, the case could also draw federal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1591, which carries mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years to life, according to EveryCRSReport. Once extradition is complete, state charges will fall to the Franklin County District Attorney's Office, the county's chief prosecutorial authority for felony cases.
Part of a Larger Regional Pattern
Pennsylvania courts handled 1,235 human trafficking offenses across 366 cases over five years, with the Commonwealth ranking among the top 10 states nationally for hotline contacts, according to Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Missing and runaway teenagers are considered especially vulnerable to exploitation, and records show nearly 1,000 Maryland foster youth went missing or ran away from state custody between 2020 and 2025, according to Spotlight on Maryland.
