Kentucky man charged with rape, sodomy and strangulation after stashing a teen girl inside trap door hidden under a rug claims he was simply HELPING the girl after her grandma kicked her out of the house

A Kentucky man arrested after a missing 16-year-old boy from North Carolina was found in a hatch at his home is speaking out from prison, claiming he was actually doing the girl a favor and “she committed suicide of her own free will” hid.'

Zackary Jones, 34, is facing more than 30 different charges, including rape, after he was arrested by Lincoln County deputies when they responded to a report of domestic violence at his home on Christmas Day.

He initially told officers the victim was not at his home on Robertstown Road in Kings Mountain, but after they arrested him on drug charges, they found the missing teen in a hatch hidden under a rug.

Jones said from the Pulaski County Jail that he met the girl online, where she told him she was 18 years old and insisted he help her, reported WKYT.

“She hid of her own free will. She was actually in bed when the police officers first got in there,” Jones said.

Lincoln County deputies found the missing teen in a hatch when they responded to a domestic violence report at his home on Christmas Day

'Her grandmother kicked her out. She didn't seem that old (16). She had all kinds of piercings.'

The teen's grandfather, Eugene Baughman, said she ran away from her grandmother and then met Jones.

Baughman said, “She started having her privileges taken away from her, her phone and everything. Then she got angry and left. She wouldn't come home again.'

“I don't think he was saving anyone. I think he was trying to find another person to victimize.”

Jones brought the 16-year-old home and told his family she was 18. It was his mother, Ronda Jones, who finally called the police when she thought they were having a domestic dispute.

'They were arguing, shouting and shouting. It's probably the hardest thing I've had to do,” Jones' mother said WRAL.

After initially denying the girl was in the house, officers were shortly afterward taken through the house by Jones, according to a police citation.

The officers saw drugs in plain view, which Jones then tried to get rid of in a wood stove in his bedroom.

Authorities then took Jones into custody and left him in the backseat of a police vehicle.

They then returned to try to find the missing girl when they saw a trapdoor hidden under a bedroom rug.

Zackary Jones claimed he met the girl online and she claimed to be 18 years old and her grandmother kicked her out

The girl – a missing 16-year-old from Fayetteville, North Carolina who has yet to be identified – was found.

Officers said the victim was “very high” when Jones was arrested.

The 34-year-old man admitted to taking drugs and “engaging in sexual activities” with the girl. The age of consent is 16 in Kentucky.

However, the girl then stated that Jones picked her up from North Carolina and took her back to his home.

She told police that he had contacted her about two to three weeks earlier, claiming he was 19.

When he arrived at her home, she said he looked older and admitted he had lied. However, he then lied again and said he was 25.

The victim did not discover Jones' real age until she arrived at his home and met his family.

Jones' mother said: 'I asked him how old she was. He said, “She's 19.” So I took that as the truth. I believed him because a lot of girls looked older than they are.'

'For me, she was happy to go with him. I just feel like they were probably talking. I don't know how long he's been texting her. From what the police said it was clear that she was not happy where she was, that she felt like she was being cared for and she went with him.”

The victim told officers that after she discovered his real age, he threatened her and made her promise to tell anyone who asked that she was 18.

Jones opened the door to his home on Robertstown Road in Kings Mountain and told authorities the victim was not there. They soon found her in a hatch in his bedroom under a rug

The teen then claimed that Jones was armed with a gun and had repeatedly threatened to kill her.

'I was shocked. I'm always mad when he lies to me,” Rhonda Jones said

“No matter what he did, he is my son and I love him. I'm sorry he did it, and that's all I can say.”

The teen said they were stopped by a Lincoln County officer the night he trafficked her and said he would shoot the officer if he tried to get either of them out of the vehicle.

Jones faces a dozen charges, including rape, sodomy, strangulation, terroristic threats and resisting arrest.