Outrage is erupting in Ohio after a missing teen girl was found living with her former high-school teacher 263 days since she disappeared, and now the instructor who allegedly “groomed” the girl is only being charged with a misdemeanor.
The New York Post reports: “The 17-year-old had run away from the Huckleberry House crisis shelter in Columbus on Dec. 2, 2025, with her family repeatedly pointing police to the home of Jobe Binkley, 48, a former Springfield City School District science teacher.
“Chelsi Warner, the mother of the victim’s half-sister, told The Post that Binkley began grooming the teen when they met at the school two years ago, with her previously running away to his house last year.”
“‘She’s had a troubled history with her mother and this groomer took advantage of a girl looking for a parental figure,’ said Warner, who’s housed the victim in the past.”
“It’s absolutely disgusting … and she’s so groomed and brainwashed by that man that she doesn’t see what he’s done to her.”
Binkley, now free on bond, has pleaded not guilty to one count of interference with custody, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The prosecutor in the case regretted a stronger charge could not be pinned on Binkley without cooperation from the teen.
WSYX-TV reports:
For months, the teenager’s family and police searched for answers, as did neighbors in Springfield. Danielle Flint, who lives two doors down from the home where the teenager was eventually found, said she had seen Facebook posts suggesting the girl could be staying there.
Flint said she tried to catch a glimpse of the teenager while she was outside or in her backyard, but never saw her.
“I’ve tried to peek around here and see if I can catch her, you know, in the back or maybe out of the house at night but I had never seen her,” Flint said.
On August 21 – 263 days after the teenager was last seen – Springfield police and an officer with the U.S. Marshals’ special taskforce went to the home of Jobe Binkley on West North Street and found the teenager alive inside. Court records obtained by ABC 6 said officers had previously gone to Binkley’s home twice and asked to search for the girl.
At those times, Binkley refused officers to enter his home and stated that the missing person was not inside. The records also say Binkley knew the teenager had been reported missing.
“For nine months not being able to find your baby, is she dead, is she alive, is she OK. I, I cannot imagine,” Flint said. “I couldn’t imagine how her mother felt.” …
“If he was her teacher, that’s absolutely beyond disturbing,” Flint said. “Are our kids safe in our schools now?”
The district says Binkley is no longer teaching, having been put on administrative leave in November 2024 and January 2025, and eventually fired for violating district policy regarding the use of technology.
Ron O’Brien, a former prosecutor in Franklin County, indicated additional charges could be brought by a grand jury.
He told ABC6 that detectives could probe evidence from the phones of both Binkley and the teen, along with what the girl tells authorities about what transpired inside his home.
“If you have an adult trying to take advantage of a minor, oftentimes the only charge you might be able to lodge at the outset is an interference with custody,” O’Brien said.
“Oftentimes, you really need the cooperation of the minor to do that. Sometimes they’re willing to provide that information and other times not.”
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