Ryan Balletto, L, and Patrick Pearmain, R, face the possibility of life in prison on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, using a minor in a drug operation and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Photo: Lake County Sheriff's Office.
A 15 year old "serial runaway" from Los Angeles was raped and locked inside a metal toolbox, and forced to process marijuana for two men who held her captive, according to a federal criminal complaint filed this week [PDF LINK]. Ryan Balletto, 30, and Patrick Pearmain, 24, have been charged with conspiracy to distribute pot, using a minor in a drug operation and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
They held her inside the 4-foot-long, 2-foot-wide, 2-foot-tall box for a total of three days, over two occasions. The girl told police Balletto called her a "trouper" because she did not scream while inside the box. The complaint details the sexual assault she endured, and objects found at the scene:
"A poem signed by the minor found in Balletto's trailer described her life as being locked inside a box with holes in it."
When police tracked down the missing girl, they found guns, drugs, condoms, a pregnancy test, and a notebook with what is described as a script for the teen to read to police over the phone.
A police search of Balletto's 680-acre pot grow in Lake County and a second property he owned in California turned up a gun safe containing "a ponytail of human hair," 17 guns, and thousands of dollars in cash.
The details listed in the federal complaint are so sad. Here's a summary in the LA Times account:
On the rural property, which the girl knew as "the farm," investigators found a metal box with holes in it. Spray painted on the outside was the first initial of the teenage girl's name and inside was a decal that "depicted an animal skull surrounding the shadow image of a human skull with the logo 'Bone Collector,'" according to the court documents.
Human hair was found inside, prosecutors said. The girl said she was kept in the box for a total of three days and was given water through a hose. The box was hoisted into the air and tilted at an angle so when water was poured inside it would wash the girl and clean human waste out of the box, court documents say.
Authorities said they also found a poem signed by the girl inside describing life in the box.
Image: Lake County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team, Narcotics Task Force, and Major Crimes Unit. "22 weapons consisting of high powered military grade sniper and assault rifles, automatic assault rifles and pistols, in addition to ammunition, high capacity magazines, military grade body armor, and military grade scopes were seized. This has been the largest and most sophisticated bulk of weapons seized in recent Lake County Sheriff's Office history. "
Images: Lake County Sheriff's Office. Property owned by Ryan Alan Balletto, suspect in illegal pot grow and the sexual abuse of a minor.
