A teen who went missing in Los Angeles in  April was discovered a month later in Northern California, having been kidnapped  and used as a sex slave on a marijuana farm.

The Los Angeles Police Department decribed  the 15-year-old girl as a runaway. They believe she was kidnapped by Ryan  Balletto, 30, and his associate Patrick Pearmain, 25, and taken to their growing  operation in Lake County, California.

According to a criminal complaint, when the  girl wasn’t being used to harvest marijuana she was locked for days at a time in  a 4-foot by 2-foot metal toolbox.

Captors: 30-year-old Ryan Balletto, left, and  25-year-old Patrick Pearmain, right, were arrested in May after the girl they  kidnapped called police, and authorities traced the call to a motel in  Sacramento

Kidnapped: A girl who went missing in April in Los  Angeles ended up being used as a sex slave on a marijuana farm in Northern  California until she was rescued on May 1

 

Prisoner: Balletto and Pearmain kept the girl locked in  a 4-foot by 2-foot metal toolbox, sometimes for days at a time

Trooper: According to the criminal complaint, Balletto  called the girl a ‘trooper’ for not screaming in the box

The toolbox had holes punched in it so she  could breathe, and a blanket. Another hole was  drilled into the box so they could a  run a hose through it to clean out human  waste without letting her out. It was spray-painted with ‘an animal skull  surrounding the shadow image of a human skull with the logo “bone  collector.”‘

After her rescue the girl recalled two  occasions where she was in the box for three days.

Apparently Balletto called her a ‘trooper’  for not screaming in the box.

She was also told ‘not to (expletive) up’  because the men had a ‘whole lot of money on the (marijuana)  grow.’

In addition to the toolbox, police found a  homemade wooden rack used for sexual bondage, a noose , two dildos, and a white  towel with blood stains on it.

LAPD contacted the Lake County Police  Department, saying Balletto may have been responsible for the girl’s kidnapping.  Officers showed up at Balletto’s house on April 29, asking about the  teen.

The next day the girl called the police to  report that she was okay.

Authorities were able to trace that call to  the girls location at a west Sacramento motel, where the two men were arrested  and the teen transferred to protective custody.

While arresting the men, police found a  notebook with what seems to be a script written for the girl for her phone call  to police.

‘They think I’m missing’ and ‘I just want to  make sure Ryan Balletto doesn’t get in any trouble’ are two of the lines from  the script.

The girl told investigators that both men had  sex with her, and that it was consensual with Pearmain. Since she is a minor,  officers informed her that she is ‘legally unable’ to consent to sex with an  adult.

The sex with Balletto, she said, was ‘not as  consensual’ and that she did it to ‘help him out.’

Federal investigators believe there may be more victims.

Police later raided Balletto’s grow operation  and home where they found 1,400 pot plants, $4,000 in cash, and ‘the largest and  most sophisticated bulk of weapons seized in recent (department)  history.’

They found a cache of 22 firearms, including  high-powered military-grade sniper and assault rifles, automatic assault rifles  and pistols. Many of the firearms were already loaded.

Along with the firearms they found  military-grade body armor and scopes, high-capacity magazines and  ammunition.

Horde: Police found a huge arsenal of weapons during a  raid on the growing operation and Balletto’s home

Authorities found most of the firearms in a  safe at Balletto’s house. A ponytail of hair was also found in the safe.

Balletto’s girlfriend, 27-year-old Christa  McConnell, was arrested during the raid on the home.

McConnell has five children with Balletto,  according to the criminal complaint. During their raid they found a 7-month-old  baby sleeping on the master bed with a loaded gun only two-feet away from the  headboard.

All five children were placed in the custody  of Lake County Child Protective Services. McConnell faces child-endangerment and  weapons charges.

Last year, Lake County had 87 cases of  residents cultivating marijuana. According to public information releases posted  on the Sheriff’s Office website, police have already eradicated nearly 60,000 pot plants just  this month.

‘Some in our community believe that marijuana  grow operations are run by compassionate caregivers interested only in supplying  medicine to the sick, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said in a written statement.

‘Unfortunately, this case illustrates what we  in law enforcement see – marijuana grow operations that include heavily armed,  violent individuals, motivated by profit,  carrying out abuse of vulnerable victims.’

Read more: DailyMail