This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
PACIFIC, MO (KTVI) – A Pacific man caught kidnapping a Florida girl he had groomed to be his sex slave is behind bars in Kentucky. It’s all thanks to swift police work and communication across state lines.
For several weeks, 46 year-old John Rush chatted with a vulnerable 16 year-old online, authorities say, through a cell phone the girl’s parents didn’t know she had.
The conversations were sexual in nature.  The details are perverse.  Rush named his victim “Babygirl Lauren”, and laid out a list of rules for her.  “
“Babygirl Lauren is to keep Daddy happy sexually.  Babygirl Lauren’s training will be about being sexy,” reads Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida.  He continues, “Babygirl Lauren will be given a locking collar. Daddy will have the key.”
On Thursday morning, Rush arrived in Davenport, Florida, to pick her up, and bring her back to Pacific.  Surveillance footage shows his black Honda Accord entering and then leaving her subdivision before 6am.
Detectives used another surveillance video to get the tag number off Rush’s car.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department sent an alert to law enforcement agencies across the country.  Hours later, Kentucky State Police tracked down the Honda in McCracken County. That’s where Rush remains behind bars.  The 16 year-old was unharmed.  Her parents drove to Kentucky to pick her up.
The Sheriff explains, “Now where would this have ended up in Missouri: like we have seen on the national news for years, and us not knowing what happened to her? Or does he get bored with her and says there’s nothing else to do but kill her?”In Pacific, Rush’s neighbors are truly alarmed.  Referring to his 10 year-old sister, Kyle Bucher says, “That’s why you don’t walk to school by yourself, because of that. I’m very protective over her.”
Alicia Medlock adds, “To know that there’s someone that’s that depraved, living so close to you, and living so close to all these children, it makes me wonder if i don’t need to start walking the neighborhood and watching. Who’s watching these children?”
Neighbors were also disturbed to discover that Rush was around local children on a daily basis. He worked as a manager of an ice cream shop.
On Friday afternoon, law enforcement combed Rush’s house, looking for evidence. He could face charges in several states and on the federal level, as well. ​

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Rush created rules for the girl online. He told her she would live a life of sexual slavery that included wearing a locking collar.

  • Rule 13 – Goodbye kisses are required.
  • Rule 15 –  Babygirl is to keep Daddy happy sexually.
  • Rule 17 – Babygirl will be given a locking collar. Daddy will have the key
  • Rule 21 – Contact with family or friends is strictly forbidden.
  • Rule 22 – Breaking these rules will result in punishment.