09/23/2005

By KRISTEN GELINEAU  / Associated Press

A 38-year-old man identified as a person of interest in the disappearance of a missing college freshman was arrested Friday, police said.

Richmond police spokeswoman Kirsten Nelson confirmed amateur photographer Ben Fawley was taken into custody and said "charges are on the way." She declined to immediately comment on what the charges are or whether they are related to the disappearance of 17-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Taylor Behl.

According to a search warrant, police entered Fawley's home earlier this week looking for child pornography. They seized his computers and several CDs, according to the warrant.

Behl hasn't been since she left her dorm room around 10 p.m. Sept. 5 to give her roommate privacy with a boyfriend. She told the couple she would return in a little while, taking with her a cell phone, a small amount of cash, a student ID and her car keys.

Fawley was one of the last people to see Behl that night, and his lawyer, Chris Collins, has said the two had a romantic relationship. Collins did not return calls seeking comment but has said his client had nothing to do with Behl's disappearance.

"I'm glad that he is behind bars, but it doesn't help the police find Taylor," Behl's mother, Janet Pelasara, told Richmond television station WWBT.

According to a police incident report, Fawley said he was abducted several hours after Behl disappeared. Fawley told police he was robbed and kidnapped by two unknown assailants as he was out walking around 5 a.m. on Sept. 6. Fawley said he was beaten and shoved to the ground, where someone put a bag over his head before putting him into a vehicle and driving him to an unknown location. He said he was then pushed out onto a dirt road.

In the incident report, the responding officer said Fawley wasn't able to provide any details as to where he had been taken, but told police he'd been attacked last year outside his home and believed the two events were related.

"I was able to determine that he should be on medication for bipolar disorder and that he was intoxicated prior to the listed events," the officer wrote in the report. "It is my belief that the victim was attacked but due to his mental state getting any other relevant information is going to prove to be very difficult."

George Peterson, an attorney for Behl's mother, said his client met Fawley once — when police were questioning him soon after Behl disappeared.

"She got a very bad feeling about him and had to walk away — she could not listen to him," Peterson said. "I think he certainly is someone that the police have put a high degree of scrutiny upon and probably deservedly so."

Behl's family has cleared out her dorm room and taken the items back to her home in Vienna, Peterson said. Pelasara does not want her daughter to return to VCU if she is found, he said.

Pelasara has offered an $11,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to Behl's return. VCU on Thursday offered a $20,000 reward.

A second Richmond teenager was reported missing this week, but police say they don't believe the two cases are related.

Monica Rose Sharp was last seen Sunday morning, when she left her home to take her dog for a walk. Her mother filed a missing-persons report later that day.

Nelson said police believe the 17-year-old may have gone with someone she met on the Internet.

Sharp vanished from the city's Museum District — the same neighborhood where Behl's car was found last weekend. The car's license plates had been replaced with Ohio plates that had been reported stolen several weeks before Behl disappeared. The FBI is analyzing the car for evidence.

Nelson said there is no evidence of a link between the two disappearances.

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On the Net:

Family web site: http://friendsoftaylor.com/

Virginia Commonwealth University: http://www.vcu.edu