Florida Man Allegedly Threatened To Rape 11-Year-Old Girl Via Kik Messenger Application If She Didn’t Send Nude Photos
A 25-year-old Florida man was arrested February 4 after allegedly harassing and threatening to rape an 11-year-old girl via the Kik messenger application if she didn’t send nude photos of herself, reported Fox4Now. An investigation commenced not long after his arrest when a father in Polk County contacted the sheriff’s office, reporting a man on the Kik messenger application who went by the name “Daddy.”
The father, whose name has been withheld, complained that the individual had been harassing his daughter and threatening to “post her home address on the Internet, asking for people to come rape her, set her house on fire, or hurt her, unless the girl sent him nude photos and videos of herself and/or provide him with names and addresses of other girls,” according to documents.
When the girl told her father about being and harassed and threatened on the Kik messenger application, he engaged in a conversation with the man as an attempt to uncover his identity. When it was to no avail, he went to the police and reported him.
It was later uncovered that Lucas Dylan Bales of Cape Coral was behind the username “Daddy” on the Kik messenger application, and Polk County police department and Cape Coral police worked closely together to serve a search warrant on the morning of February 11. When they arrived at Bales’ home, they “seized his cell phone, laptop, desktop computer, and PlayStation gaming system.”
After rummaging through Bales belongings, they discovered the threatening messages via Kik that he sent to the 11-year-old girl, but that’s not all. According to ABC-7 News, it was also uncovered that he threatened another girl, who is believed to be the age of 12. Detectives stated that he wanted the young girl to send nude photos, so he threatened her via Kik as well. However, it was not immediately known if the child actually sent nude photos to Bales.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd stated that “Here is another very scary example of how predators are victimizing your children on the Internet and via cell phones. This is also another shining example of how parents are the first line of defense against child predators.”
“This young girl did the right thing by immediately reporting the crime to her father, and he did the right thing by immediately reporting it to us. We hope there are no other victims out there, but if you have been contacted by Lucas Bales, we urge you to contact PCSO or Cape Coral Police.”
Neighbor Bob Tonetti couldn’t was stunned after learning that Bales committed such a crime. He said, “I’m completely shocked and surprised that something like that would happen just a few doors away from me. It surprises me whenever I hear anything like this on the news. This is not a good thing to be going on in our country.”
25-year-old Lucas Bales of Cape Coral arrested for threatening young girls on Internet. LIVE update @Fox4Now at 6 pic.twitter.com/fghTXGFvRh
— Lisa Greenberg (@LisaGreenbergTV) February 11, 2016
Another neighbor, Charley Ellegood, said that “This is like something out of Law and Order the television show… I really feel sorry for the parents. Absolutely terrific people. You couldn’t ask for better neighbors and then for something like this to happen… they’ve got to be really broken up about this.”
Lucas Dylan Bales was charged with a slew of crimes, including “threatening/extortion, aggravated stalking of a minor, eight counts of making written threats to kill or do bodily harm, 10 counts of unlawful use of a communication device and criminal use of a child’s ID.”
He was also charged with drug possession as detectives discovered marijuana in his home during the search. After his arrest, he was transported to Polk County jail to face his charges.
Forensics are currently analyzing his “seized equipment,” and he could possibly face more charges.
The investigation is ongoing.
[Image via Lee County Sheriff’s Office]
