Man accused of holding Statesville girl captive now charged with sex offenses

The man accused of holding a 14-year-old captive in her Statesville home and killing her mother has now been charged with kidnapping, assault on a female and several sex offenses.

Gary Love, an Ohio resident who had been in North Carolina for a few months, faces felony charges for kidnapping, indecent liberties with a child, sexual servitude with a child victim and 10 counts of statutory sex offense with a child younger than 15.

Love had already been charged with murder in connection with the death of 46-year-old Robin Denman, whose daughter’s plea for help in a text message to a friend brought Iredell County deputies to the house on Dec. 26.

The girl told deputies she had been tied up since Christmas Eve and hadn’t seen her mother since then. Denman’s body was found in the house, and her cause of death was blunt force trauma.

Love is being held without bond on the murder charge.

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Man accused of holding Statesville girl captive now charged with sex offenses."