The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
The authorities arrested a North Dakota teenager who they believed was using the internet to find young children to babysit so he could have sexual relations with them.
According to reports, the adoptive father of a 16-year-old who was in the custody of Cass County Social Services in Mandan recently called the authorities when he found out his younger child had received pornographic images on his cell phone. The dad reported that he believed his adopted son was the sender, and the police opened an investigation.
When they accessed and reviewed the alleged offending teen’s internet usage, the authorities reportedly discovered that he was connected with multiple babysitting groups on Facebook where he offered to sit for children between the ages of 4 and 8. He allegedly made it known that he was predominantly interested in babysitting for little girls, but would consider little boys as well. His browser history reportedly showed a lot of searches related to ways to prevent getting caught when grooming youngsters for sexual purposes. In addition to the alleged internet material, it was reported that he had a computer directory containing videos with grooming instructions, hundreds of photographs and videos of children, and pictures of a 6-year-old girl that they believed he made.
The teen, who also allegedly sent messages to someone informing them that he was a pedophile, was arrested, and his bond was set at $50. He is facing charges of two counts of promoting or directing an obscene sexual performance by a minor, five counts of possession of certain prohibited materials, and sexual assault. According to reports, the teenager is scheduled for a jury trial to begin on October 22.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a sexual offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.