Girl Abducted From Portland School, Raped

PORTLAND

Dozens of students screamed for help as a man abducted a 12-year-old girl from a crowded hallway in a Portland middle school Friday morning.

The 30-year-old man, who was confronted by an inquisitive staff member as he entered Kellogg Middle School, said he was trying to register a new student. But when the staff member left, he grabbed the seventh-grade girl.

Police said the man took the girl to his car and drove her to a nearby motel, raped her and pushed her out of a back window after he was startled by a knock on the door.

Charles Elwin Burch, 30, was charged with kidnapping, rape, sodomy and sexual abuse. Police said he was on probation for a federal weapons charge and had a previous burglary conviction.