BREMERTON, Wash. — The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office says a 21-year-old woman with autism who was missing out of Bremerton has been found safe.
Deputies are now questioning the man accused of kidnapping her.
The two allegedly met online and law enforcement believe he lured her from her home on Saturday.
That man, 21-year-old Leroy Franklin Nickols, is a registered sex offender with a 2022 conviction for rape.
Investigators say the two had previously connected online and met in person at a Kitsap County mall about a month ago. Authorities believe Nickols lured her from her home Saturday night.
Court records reveal Nickols has a lengthy criminal past. In 2022, he was convicted of second-degree rape in Lewis County. In April 2024, he pleaded guilty to assault charges, and most recently in June 2024, he pleaded guilty to assault charges again.
Nickols has been booked into Kitsap County Jail on a kidnapping charge and is being held on $150,000 bail. He is set to appear in court on Tuesday.