Michigan Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting a Missing Teen He Kept in His Home for Months.
A Michigan man, who was on probation for kidnapping, has been arrested again after authorities say he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a young girl.
Reports say that on Jan. 19, 2025, FBI agents followed up on information about a 15-year-old girl who’s been missing since October 2024.
Based on the information they received from witnesses, they believe the missing teen was staying with Cook at a home in Redford.
When FBI agents went to the Redford home, they met Cook’s brother. He then gave an agent Cook’s phone number to interview him.
FBI agents interviewed Cook over the phone, where he told them he was on parole for unlawful imprisonment. During the interview, Cook told the agents where the missing teen was staying, which was a home in Detroit.
When police arrived at the address given to them by Cook, they found the missing girl. She was then transported to a local hospital for evaluation. While there she disclosed to a social worker that she had been with Cook almost the entire time she was missing. She gave authorities the passcode to her phone and her mother gave them permission to search for evidence.
What they found was a parent's nightmare.
FBI agents found that the teen’s phone had multiple videos of her being sexually assaulted by a man. Some of the videos are dated to have been recorded in November 2024, when the girl was 14 years old. They concluded that most of the videos were recorded by Cook onto the girl's device. Cook was identified in the videos by his tattoos.
On Jan. 28, 2025, the 15-year-old girl told FBI agents in an interview that she met Cook after she ran away from home in October 2024. Cook apparently went by the alias Eric Slope.
When the girl met Cook, he reportedly told her he could bring her back to his house so he could have sex with her. She went to stay with him at an apartment in Redford.
She eventually told Cook she was 14 years old at the time, and a missing runaway and her mother was looking for her. Cook reportedly became upset and told the girl he did not want to call the police because he was a convicted kidnapper on probation.
FBI agents searched or the social media account of Elias Slope and then did a facial comparision to prove that they were the same person. During an interview, the teen was shown two unmarked photos of Devan Cook and Eric Slope. She confirmed with FBI agents that both photos were of Cook.
Cook was on probation for unlawful imprisionment and is now facing kidnapping and sexual assault charges.
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