What would you guess most 14-year-old boys do in their extra time? I’d guess play video games. The victim in this true-crime did indeed play video games, in fact, that’s where he met a 38-year-old woman, mother of three children, posing as a 25-year-old woman.
After chatting within the video game platform, the woman wanted to chat privately with the boy. They began texting each other and continued to text for two months. Her mind games included explicit sexual talk—telling him in detail what she planned to do to him and how he’d feel after because she would be his first sexual partner.
When the boy didn’t give the woman enough attention, she began to berate him and told him she was disappointed in him and that he needed to be an equal partner in their relationship. She went on to tell him she wouldn’t drive 8 hours to see him if he continued to act like he couldn’t be bothered with her. He apologized profusely and pleaded with her to drive to meet him. This tactic is classic victim grooming.
The woman drove to his area, checked into a motel and then met the boy in a park. The boy had to leave to have lunch with his family, but the two planned to meet again after the lunch.
While at lunch with his family, his father picked up on something going on and looked at his son’s cell phone and saw all of the explicit text messages. The boy’s stepmother called the woman who didn’t answer the phone call, so she left a message telling the woman to stay away from her stepson. Then the father reported the 25-year-old woman to the authorities (even after meeting her the boy still thought she was 25).
The boy’s father gave consent for the boy’s cell phone and gaming console to be examined. Through the devices, the authorities identified the woman and arrested her. The authorities also obtained cell phone records from the woman’s service provider which included her GPS locations. She chose to go to trial where a jury found her guilty of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
While awaiting sentencing, on her behalf, her attorney made a motion for temporary release until sentencing. She wrote a letter to be included with the motion. Her reasons were focused on her health—she wasn’t receiving a proper diet for her chronic illness, she needed to see a real doctor, she’d been given too many antibiotics and feared she’d become resistant, her kidney stones had become too painful, and she wished to live pain-free for a few months before going to prison. The judge denied her request.
A U.S. Attorney associated with the case said,
“She deliberately and aggressively manipulated a 14-year-old boy, a child that was around the same age as her children, for her own sexually deviant motives.”
During the woman’s testimony, she lied about certain details that her cell phone data proved otherwise. Her committing perjury added time to her sentence.
The federal judge sentenced her to 14 years in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release. #truecrime #sexualpredator
Source: U.S. District Court, U.S. Department of Justice
Comments