CAMP PENDLETON NORTH, Calif. — A Marine has been charged with allegations of sexual assault of a minor related to a missing 14-year-old girl that was found at Camp Pendleton on June 28.
The command has scheduled a preliminary hearing for August 17 to review all of the charges and evidence to decide if the case should be tried by court-martial, Captain Charles Palmer said in a release on Friday. The Marine has also been charged with violating liberty restriction from a prior, unrelated case.
The girl is now home with her family in Spring Valley, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
The girl's aunt started speaking out on social media last week, saying her teenage niece was sold to a soldier for sex. The family followed with a public plea for answers and transparency on Monday.
“She was raped by a Marine at Camp Pendleton. His identity is still unknown,” Casaundra Perez said during the Monday news conference aimed at getting more information released to the public.
The teenager had been missing for more than two weeks when she was located inside a barracks on June 28.
Perez said military police interrogated the underage girl twice on base without permission from her guardian.
“We don't know what's going on. They have not provided anything,” said Perez.
“The family is saying that they believe their relative was trafficked, potentially purchased, and then ended up in the Pendleton barracks,” said Chloe Cheyenne, the founder of Community X, the group that organized the news conference.
On the date the girl was located on base, an unidentified Marine was taken into custody for questioning, but no charges were filed. He was released to his command pending the outcome of the NCIS investigation.
WATCH: Family wants info about the investigation of 14-year-old girl found in Camp Pendleton barracks