WAPELLO COUNTY – A Tennessee man is in custody after an investigation into sexual assault involving a minor in Wapello County.
According to the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began in October 2025. Investigators learned that the victim, who was under the age of 13 at the time, had met and communicated with the suspect online, but did not know his true identity or what state he lived in. They also learned that the suspect had picked the victim up from her residence in Wapello County and transported her to a short-term vacation rental residence in Jefferson County, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Investigative efforts by authorities, which included submitting numerous subpoenas and search warrants for social media and online records, led them to identify the suspect as 22-year-old Reuben Justice of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was determined that Justice had traveled approximately 10-11 hours from Chattanooga to Iowa to pick up the minor victim.
Arrest warrants were issued through both Wapello and Jefferson counties, and investigators requested assistance from the United States Marshals Service in the Eastern District of Tennessee to locate and apprehend Justice. After an extended effort to locate him, Justice was apprehended on September 10, 2026, by the Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force and booked into the Hamilton County Jail in Tennessee. He was subsequently extradited to Wapello County and arrived at the Wapello County Jail on September 16, 2026, where he is currently being held.
Justice faces charges of 1st Degree Kidnapping – Intentionally Subject to Torture or Sexual Abuse (Class A felony), 2nd Degree Sexual Abuse (Class B felony), and Grooming (Class D felony).
The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office thanked the following agencies and organizations for their assistance in this matter:
- Wapello County Attorney’s Office
- Jefferson County Attorney’s Office
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- United States Marshals Service – Eastern District of Tennessee
- Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force – TN
- Crisis Intervention Services
