Authorities reported that a 13-year-old Tampa Bay girl who went missing over the weekend was with a guy from Broward County who was caught and prosecuted. The girl had met the man online.
According to Tampa News station WTSP, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said on Tuesday that Edward Rodriguez, 38, is now facing a single charge of interference with child custody. The youngster was back home thanks to the assistance of the U.S. Marshals and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
In a statement to WTSP, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister stated, “We are incredibly grateful that this little girl has been found.” “I want to express my sincere gratitude to the U.S. Marshals and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for their prompt and efficient assistance. What matters most is that a young child has been reunited with her family thanks to our combined efforts.”
The Incident:
According to arrest paperwork acquired by News Miami, Rodriguez traveled to a given location in Hillsborough County at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday to pick up the girl and transported her to his residence in Cooper City, which is about four hours distant from her home in Plant City.
The girl was listed as an “endangered missing juvenile” at the moment the child’s mother reported her missing, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had sent out a missing child notice, according to WTSP. Detectives from Hillsborough County subsequently located the girl at Rodriguez’s residence in Cooper City.
Rodriguez met the underage girl on the gaming chat app Discord, according to arrest records. After messaging her many times since April, “he built a relationship over several months” there.
Authorities have claimed that the girl informed them she had made plans with Rodriguez to “run away together and live in his apartment together forever.” Along with her plans to stop attending school, the girl said officials that Rodriguez intended for her to be “homeschooled to obtain her GED,” according to the court documents.
Subsequently, the girl informed the authorities that she had resided in Rodriguez’s residence for a minimum of three days until her discovery on Tuesday by BSO officers.
According to the arrest records, the girl also claimed that Rodriguez informed her that “there [were] consequences to them planning to run away together” and that it was illegal to “harbor a minor runaway.” Rodriguez even attempted to cancel on her “multiple times,” the girl claimed to investigators, but she was ultimately able to persuade him to “pick her up and take her away.”
As per the arrest paperwork, Hillsborough County officers discovered several texts exchanged between the girl and Rodriguez on her laptop at home. During their conversations, Rodriguez told her, among other things, that “he likes her as more than just a friend” and threatened to put her in his basement to prevent anyone from stealing her.
Detectives gave the girl the conversation before reading through the remaining communications, and she attested to Rodriguez’s identity. According to the arrest records, Rodriguez also texted the girl, saying that he “could not stand the thought of losing” her and that he “loved her.” He also promised to call the girl “baby.”
Arrest records show that although the girl repeatedly denied having a sexual relationship with Rodriguez, she did acknowledge that he had kissed her on the mouth, cheeks, and neck a few times when they were together at the apartment. She said that she would give Rodriguez hugs and stroke her arms.
She was “protective” of Rodriguez, according to arrest records, and she told police she was worried that “something bad would happen” to him since he was “initially nervous” about picking her up. Arrest records said that she also informed officials that she was guarding him.
Hillsborough County prepared an arrest warrant for Rodriguez on the accusation above. He cited his Miranda rights while held by BSO and declined to talk with them about the event. After that, Rodriguez was brought to BSO Main Jail and charged with a criminal charge.
