Unified Police Investigating Man Suspected of Trying to Lure Teen Girls
Oct 16, 2018, 10:17 PM
RIVERTON, Utah – Unified police are investigating a 27-year old man, accused of leaving a note on the car of teen girls in Riverton, offering them $70,000 to have his baby. Police believe he is a predator, trying to lure young girls for sex.
Parents of the girls contacted police in September, after they say the man left note on the windshield of their car.
“Apps, chat rooms, all these things are always the potential areas for predators to take advantage of our children,” said Sgt. Melody Gray, with the Unified Police Department.
But Sgt. Gray says this case is unique. When the teen girl found the paper note on her windshield, she gave it to her dad, who texted the number on the note, and the person responded saying they would need to have sex with him, to get the money.
“When this first came to light, we began our investigation and since then other victims have come to light,” Sgt. Gray added.
But detectives say the investigation become more complicated, when other citizens tried their own sting operation, trying to get the man to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old girl at a McDonalds in Herriman. According to court documents, the 27-year-old man did show up to meet the girl. Police were called, but officers did not have enough evidence to make an arrest.
“The law is very clear on how these operations have to happen, and how we gather our evidence and so to make sure it is viable and we can use it in court, we have to do it correctly,” said Sgt. Gray.
Police say, sadly, predators are out there, and they encourage parents to frequently talk with their children about inappropriate communications with strangers.
“We encourage parents to always know what their children are doing, what apps are they using, what social media platforms they are using, be aware. And kids – don’t think you are safe, know who you are talking to, just because someone says who they are, doesn’t that they are,” she said.
Sgt. Gray said that police expect to investigate this case for a few more weeks, before taking it to prosecutors to screen it for possible charges.