Police have apprehended a man who made advances to a Black 14-year-old girl using a dating app, then allegedly lured her to his home where she stayed for three weeks.
Gwinnett County Police reported that the girl went missing on May 24, which was the last day of school for schools in the district of Gwinnett County, within metropolitan Atlanta. She was seen lingering around the parking lot of Parkview High School after finishing her final exams.
Her cell phone was turned off that day, and she also wasn’t active on any social media platforms, according to police.
It took weeks for investigators to get information that finally led them to the teenager’s whereabouts. They found her at a home on Sanders Drive in Morrow, Georgia, and arrested 41-year-old Russell Cheeves.
Cheeves is charged with enticing a child for indecent purposes and interference with custody. Clayton County arrest records state that he faces an additional charge of child molestation. According to court records obtained by local news station 11Alive, Cheeves had sex with the teenager numerous times.
He’s currently in jail with no bond. The teen was released to her parents. Her identity was previously released when she was reported missing, but is now being withheld since she is an underage victim of a sex crime. Investigators don’t believe this was an abduction case, and report that she was at the home willingly.
The girl’s father told local news outlet WAGA-TV FOX 5 in Atlanta that her disappearance was strange given her perfect attendance at school and the fact that she has never strayed from family.
One of Cheeves’ neighbors said she was shocked when news of Cheeves’ arrest made its way to her home.
“Absolutely sickening,” Brande Smith told FOX 5 Atlanta. “You never can be too sure, never can be too comfortable, and to basically always keep your eyes open.”
Statistics show that approximately 500,000 online child predators lurk on different dating and social media apps every day. Children ages 12 to 15 are usual targets for these adults.
The Justice Department released a number of tips to help parents and guardians keep kids safe from online predators, including discussing internet safety openly with kids and educating them on predator tactics.
Officials also implore setting limits and parameters around different devices and apps they use and for how long. Some of those apps allow parents to see what their children are doing while browsing. Parents can also watch for warning signs like withdrawn behavior or mood changes while their Internet activity increases.
