Authorities in Ludowici have arrested one suspect in connection with the reported rape of a 12-year-old girl, and they’re still looking for the person who is believed to have broken into a local grocery store earlier this month.
Ludowici Police Department Chief Diannia Duncan said Garth Binkley, 19, was arrested and charged with statutory rape. The alleged incident occurred Feb. 19 at the Royal Inn Motel, according to Duncan. Binkley and the victim are Ludowici residents.  
A cash bond of $5,000 or a property bond of $10,000 was set for Binkley, but as of Friday, the bond had not been posted, the police chief said. She added that Binkley turned himself in after a warrant was filed for his arrest, and he is in custody at the Ludowici Police Department Jail.
Duncan also said a warrant for the arrest of Lucas Rouse, 26, was filed March 18 for his alleged involvement in a Ludowici IGA grocery store break-in. Rouse, who was an employee at the IGA when the break-in occurred, had been scheduled to turn himself in to the police but, as of Friday, had not done so, according to the police chief. The break-in occurred at around 2:40 a.m. Feb. 28, and $1,038 was reported missing from an office in the store.
“If anyone has any information on his location, please call the Ludowici Police Department at 912-545-2222,” Duncan said.