An Illinois man has been extradited from Georgia on a warrant charging him with luring in an underage Lake County girl and persuading her to run away with him.
Alex Lindsley, 19, was arrested in February for taking 12-year-old Juliette Delgado, whom he met online, out of state. Deputies with the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia pulled the pair over after Delgado’s mother reported her missing. This past week, Lindsley was extradited to the Lake County Jail and has since been charged with traveling to meet a minor after use of a computer, kidnapping of a child under age 13, harmful communication with a minor and interfere with custody of minor/incompetent person.
Affidavits out of Lake County detail how Delgado’s mother reported her missing on Feb. 5. She had last seen her daughter in her residence on the night of Feb. 4. She had been experiencing behavioral issues with Delgado in recent weeks and expressed concern for her well-being, citing that she had been making comments related to suicide.
During the investigation, a Lake County detective learned Lindsley had recently traveled to Florida from Illinois to meet Delgado for the first time on Oct. 3, 2025. He told the Uber driver, who took him from Orlando to her house, that he was going to move to Florida to be with her.
A juvenile associate of Delgado advised that she used a tablet, which Delgado’s parents had not bought or permitted. Delgado later admitted Lindsley bought it for her, and it was their main way of communication. Lindsley stated they spoke through TikTok, the platform on which they met, the affidavits said.
Investigators identified a comment posted by Delgado on a video posted by Lindsley on TikTok. She had asked him to contact her on or about 10 p.m. on Feb. 4, the affidavits said.
Investigators proceeded to ping Lindsley’s phone, and location data showed the device was headed north through Georgia. His cellphone records later revealed he had been near Delgado’s residence between 10 and 11 p.m. on Feb. 4, the affidavits said.
Additionally, a look into Lindsley’s involvement with law enforcement revealed that he had been pulled over in Illinois on Feb. 3. He was driving a silver 2004 Dodge truck with a temporary tag at the time. The tag was then run through multiple law enforcement databases, which showed it was captured in Georgia near the same places his phone pinged. A warrant for his arrest was obtained on Feb. 5, and he was taken into custody that day, the affidavits said.
Based on Lindsley’s cellphone data and investigative findings, detectives believed Lindsley and Delgado stayed overnight inside the vehicle in a department store parking lot. Given the age of Delgado, the duration of contact, overnight confinement and the nature of the relationship, detectives also believed sexual activity likely occurred in the vehicle, the affidavits said.
Lindsley ultimately confirmed this in an interview on Feb. 6. He recalled performing sexual acts with Delgado in a Walmart parking lot, where they stayed overnight. He added that she had been sending him explicit photos over Google Meet and her mother’s phone for months, the affidavits said.
In a separate interview on Feb. 9, Delgado confirmed these events to be true. She added that their communications had been sexual in nature since they first met online in August or September of 2025. Since then, they communicated through Google Meet, Fortnight, TikTok and her mother’s phone, the affidavits said.
Delgado further explained that she ran away with Lindsley because she was upset with her parents. She had planned her escape with him for a week leading up to her disappearance. Throughout the interview, she asked how much “time” Lindsley would face due to his current charges and expressed concern that she would cause him to face more repercussions, the affidavits said.
It was also during this time that Delgado brought her backpack from school into the room for the interview. It was noticeably full, and when asked about its contents, she shifted her posture toward it, began biting her finger and touching her lips. After detectives got permission from her mother for a search, Delgado pulled a silver Onn tablet from the backpack that was collected as evidence, the affidavits said.
Lindsley is due to appear in court for his charges on March 23.