By Canadian Press

American man who assaulted, kidnapped Alberta woman sentenced to 18 years

Oct 11, 2019 | 10:01 AM

A South Carolina man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted an Alberta woman after luring her south of the border with the promise of a modelling job has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Fred Russell Urey, 41, was arrested in May 2017.

He pleaded guilty last month in the Thirteenth Circuit Court in Greensville, S.C., to first-degree criminal sexual conduct and intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Judge Letitia Verdin sentenced Urey last week to 18 years in prison and also ordered him to register as a sex offender. He was also ordered not to attempt any contact with his victim.

Urey was given credit for 860 days he had already spent in custody.

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Police said at the time of his arrest that the woman, who was 19 at the time and cannot be identified, talked with Urey for several months before she flew to Atlanta for what she believed was modelling work. He agreed to pay her $15,000 for the job, which was not to involve nudity or sexual acts.

The woman was instead held captive and sexually assaulted after he threatened her safety and the safety of her family in Canada.

The ordeal lasted five days. She was allowed to contact her family via FaceTime as Urey watched. Somehow she was able to signal to them that she was in danger.

Her family contacted the RCMP, who notified local authorities. Officers used cellphone signals to track a location.

When police surrounded Urey’s trailer in Norris, S.C., the woman jumped through a plate-glass window to escape. Urey held officers at bay with a knife to his throat before he surrendered.

Police also found two grams of methamphetamine.

Urey had been facing five counts of criminal sexual conduct — one charge for every day the woman was held captive. The four other charges were dropped after he agreed to plead guilty, said court spokeswoman Marcia Barker.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2019.

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Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press