Ripplemead, Virginia: Sunday, May 2, news broke of a 2-year-old that had been kidnapped from the Riverview Baptist Church in Ripplemead, Virginia. Law enforcement worked closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and 25 hours after he had gone missing, Noah Gabriel Trout was located approximately an hour and 45 minutes from where he had been taken and shortly thereafter, returned to the custody of his parents seemingly without harm.
44-year-old Nancy Fridley, and her boyfriend Bobby Taylor have been arrested and law enforcement believes that this was a random kidnapping, though Fridley may have been "casing other places outside Giles County to commit similar acts."
The following day, an official statement was posted to the church website stating, "Riverview Baptist Church values the safety and protection of every child. As a matter of policy, we fully cooperated with law enforcement. We are immediately examining ways to make our campus and facilities even more safe and secure for families wishing to come worship with us."
The statement continues saying, "We believe that transparency, child safety, and accountability are essential for successful ministry, and we are fully committed to ministering to your children in a safe as responsible manner."
Not mentioned on their website was information related to the arrest the previous week of a youth pastor by the name of Justin Elliot Graves.
Giles County Commonwealth Attorney Robert Liley Jr. stated that the Graves case has "absolutely nothing to do with the other."
31-year-old Graves was arrested on the evening of April 27 after a boy told officers that he had been asked to send a picture of his "rocket." According to the Roanoke Times, the boy stated Graves had told him that another boy had already provided a picture of his genitals.
Graves is accused of repeatedly requesting images beginning in December 2020 through texts, Snapchat and in person.
Graves is in custody at the New River Valley Regional Jail and is being held without bond on 10 charges; five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and five counts of soliciting a child to perform in pornography.
His next court date has been scheduled for July 26 in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
The records for that court do not appear in an online search of the Virginia court system, but it does reveal that Graves has a number of traffic infractions dating between November 2011 and June 2018.