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Woman charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting South St. Paul girl

Federal investigators say 23-year-old Katrina Aliff picked the child up after driving cross country, then took her back to South Carolina and sexually assaulted her.
Credit: Spartenburg Co. Sheriff's Office
Katrina Aliff is charged with transporting a child for the purpose of criminal sexual activity, and criminal aggravated sexual abuse.

GREENVILLE, South Carolina — A South Carolina woman is charged with kidnapping and sexually abusing a South St. Paul girl she met online. 

The FBI says 23-year-old Katrina Aliff confessed to meeting the girl, who was then 11 years old, in March through an app called Amino. The complaint against Aliff says the defendant and her victim continued to message on a number of platforms for months until their relationship became more intimate. 

The communication allegedly escalated until the child's father discovered messages on her phone and destroyed it. At that point, Aliff told detectives she began planning to drive to South St. Paul from her residence in Greenville, South Carolina to pick the girl up. 

The defendant reportedly told agents she left home on September 6 and arrived in Minnesota early the next day. After the young victim failed to show up at their planned meeting spot, Aliff went looking for her, and eventually located the girl walking down the sidewalk near her family's home. The two climbed into Aliff's SUV and took off for Greenville, arriving the morning of September 8. 

The defendant allegedly told detectives that after her roommate left, the two of them drank some alcohol, took a bath and then engaged in sexual activity that she described in detail.  

FBI investigators were notified of the kidnapping and began working with investigators in South St. Paul. They were able to identify Aliff's apartment as a place the girl could be located, and found her there Sunday afternoon. After Aliff's roommate gave authorities permission to search the residence investigators located the girl and Aliff in the bedroom unclothed. 

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