NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana State Police Troopers have rescued a 16-year-old girl who had been held against her will for several weeks and raped repeatedly by a 42-year-old man.

The teen, who had been reported missing, managed to escape the residence where Melvin Davis had held her captive on March 26.

Troopers with the State Police Bureau of Investigations Special Victims Unit arrested Davis and charged him with Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, Third Degree Rape, Felony Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile, False Imprisonment, possession of a firearm while in Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance, and Possession with the Intent to Distribute a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance.

Additional charges are forthcoming, according to the LSP.

The U.S. Marshals Service and New Orleans Police Department also collaborated on the arrest.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is a national anti-trafficking hotline serving victims and survivors of human trafficking and the anti-trafficking community in the United States.

The National Hotline can be accessed by emailing help@humantraffickinghotline.org, submitting a tip through the online tip reporting form, and visiting the web portal at www.humantraffickinghotline.org.

You can also call the hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text at 233733.