Apr 16, 2013 1 min read

Two Canton Township men pleaded guilty in federal court Monday in a kidnapping and sexual assault case involving a mentally challenged woman from Wheeling, W.Va., in July.

U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II in Wheeling said Jose Jesús Tapia Montes, 38, and Elmer Pina Pinto, 44, entered pleas of guilty to aiding and abetting in the transportation of an individual in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Investigators were led to the men after finding a gum wrapper with the name Jesus and a phone number written on it when the 19-year-old woman was found July 11 in Wheeling after being missing for four days. The men held her captive for those days at Montes’ home on West Wylie Avenue, where she was sexually assaulted.

The FBI traced the phone number to Montes and learned it had been used July 7 in a six-block area around a convenience store where the woman had been abducted during the same time period.

Both remain in federal custody, awaiting sentencing, and face up to 10 years in prison.