Man arrested for allegedly posing as minor, raping 14-year-old girl in Oklahoma City
By Alyse Jones
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — A man was arrested after allegedly posing as a minor, picking up a 14-year-old girl from school and raping her at Draper Park in southwest Oklahoma City.
Police said the man had been talking with the teenager for weeks through Instagram messages. Court documents revealed disturbing details of how the 18-year-old man was able to isolate and assault the girl last week.
KOCO 5 spoke with the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy about how to help children understand predators and avoid potentially dangerous situations.
Documents said an 18-year-old man picked up a 14-year-old girl after school. He allegedly told the girl they could get food and play her favorite sport at a local park.
Documents said when they got to the park, the man sexually assaulted her multiple times. According to documents, the man and girl had been communicating through Instagram, where he claimed he was 17 years old.
“You can’t trust those individuals who might claim to be someone on social media, but in reality, they’re a predator,” said Joe Dorman, the CEO of OICA.
The OICA said the increase in social media in recent years has led to an increase in child predators using popular platforms to target minors.
“We would encourage parents to be wary. Check your kid’s social media frequently. Some people feel it’s an invasion of privacy, but to keep these kids safe, you really have to know the conversations they’re having,” Dorman said.
They said predators will use social media to build trust and groom children.
“They’re going to say, ‘Oh, you’re so pretty, you’re so smart,’ and build up that closeness and then try to drive a wedge between friends and family and encourage a meeting in person,” Dorman said.
Warning signs include isolation, behavior changes and spending more time on their phone or computer. They said to have conversations with children now about reporting worries to a trusted adult.
“Have those conversations at dinner. Don’t just sit around the TV and watch a show and not talk to each other. Keep those lines of communication in place. That’s where you’re going to have the most success and avoid some kind of situation where a child becomes a victim of a predator,” Dorman said.
The 18-year-old suspect in this case has been arrested for multiple sexual assault complaints.
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