Man Allegedly Raped 11-Year-Old Facebook Friend

An Ohio man stands accused of raping an 11-year-old girl he met on Facebook.

The man encountered the girl on Facebook a few months previous and eventually convinced her to meet him in person, according to police. The suspect is identified in multiple media reports as Christopher Sims, age 30.

The girl went missing from her home in Lorain, Ohio, in mid February, and in addition to notifying police of her absence, her dad tried to tracked her down. ” A few weeks later on March 1, the father saw his 11-year-old daughter walk out of Sims’ house on Iowa Avenue and get into a car with Sims around 1 a.m., according to police. The father followed the car and called police who pulled over Sims’ car 30 minutes later and found Sims driving with the 11-year-old girl in the backseat. Police questioned the girl who told them that she had been staying with Sims at his house while she was reported missing and that she and Sims had sex Feb. 26, police said.”

According to a local police detective, “We advise parents to not to get involved in cases. But if a father is looking for his missing daughter, I can’t stop him.”

On Tuesday, police searched Sims’ apartment pursuant to a warrant and found evidence of the alleged rape of the runaway girl. The suspect was also taken into custody on a rape charge on the same day and is being held on a $1 million bond pending a March 13 court hearing.

The Facebook rape suspect is reportedly not a first-time offender. On February 19, the same day that the 11-year-old was reported missing, the suspect reportedly pleaded guilty to a 2004 charge of gross sexual imposition and is awaiting sentencing on that plea. A minor was apparently involved in that incident as well.

[Image via Kesu / Shutterstock.com]