Florida Man Arrested For Kidnapping Collingswood Girl Detained

COLLINGSWOOD, NJ — A Florida man who was arrested for kidnapping a 12-year-old Collingswood girl last weekend has been detained on federal charges.

Liam Heim, 21, of Gulfport, Fla. was arrested and charged last weekend with one count of first-degree kidnapping and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child after he was found in a Philadelphia hotel room with the girl he met through an online app, police said. He has also been charged by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia with transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

He made his first appearance in federal court on Thursday, at which time the prosecutor alleged he fantasized about torturing the girl in a “sex dungeon,” the Courier Post reports. Heim reportedly told the girl to turn off her cell phone and remove the battery so police couldn’t find them after he picked her up at Knight Park in Collingswood and took her to a hotel room in Philadelphia. However, she convinced him to let her turn the phone on every so often to tell the time. Police were able to use that signal to track them down.

Heim was arrested without incident after the Camden County Prosecutor's Office Special Victim's Unit, Philadelphia Police Airport Unit and the Collingswood Police department found them in a hotel room on Bartram Avenue.

The girl’s parents told njpen.com their daughter communicated with Heim via a school-issued computer and without their knowledge. They had banned her use of the Internet at home because they were concerned she was on it so often. They also said her friend told a school counselor about Heim’s relationship with the girl two days before she went missing. The school district is currently on spring break.

Heim admitted in a recorded interview with police that he sexually assaulted the girl, according to the probable cause statement provided by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

The girl also told police that she was sexually assaulted by Heim after he met with her in Collingswood and took her to the hotel room. They were discovered in the room together after the girl was reported missing by her parents on Thursday, March 29.

Her best friend has said the two met on Discord, an online voice and text app for gamers. The chats show that Heim and the girl were involved in a dating relationship and traded pictures with each other. Heim told the girl he knew she was 12-years-old and what the consequences would be, but that he was just "following his heart."

The attached image of Liam Heim was previously provided by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office