New York Campground Kidnapper Pleads Guilty to Sex Assault
FACING THE MUSIC
Craig Ross Jr. accepted a plea deal from prosecutors Wednesday, pleading guilty to kidnapping and sexual assault charges that stemmed from his infamous September abduction of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena at a New York state park. Ross, 46, is likely now staring down prison time, though authorities did not immediately divulge the details of his plea deal. He was arrested on Oct. 2 after Sena was found stuffed in a cabinet inside his camper. Authorities linked Ross to Sena’s kidnapping, which occurred on Sept. 30 at Moreau Lake State Park, after they matched the fingerprints left on a ransom note to him. After his arrest, New York authorities announced that he’d be scrutinized for potential links to the killings of two young women who disappeared in 2003 and 2005, but no announcement has been made about their findings in those cases. Ross had been arrested previously on accusations he choked someone in a domestic incident in 2017 and for driving under the influence in 1999—an arrest that logged his fingerprints in the New York state system, ultimately leading to his arrest in October, said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at the time.