A 14-year-old’s swift actions thwarted the intentions of an alleged child predator by providing her mother’s cell phone number instead of her own, according to Arizona police.
“Here is a prime example of a young lady who thought quickly on her feet and did the right thing!” the Glendale Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.
A 37-year-old man named Isaiah Navarro reportedly approached a 14-year-old girl as she was making her way home from school.
Surveillance footage, made public by law enforcement, captured the adult nearing the teenager.
Officials reported that the individual tried to initiate a dialogue with the young girl, but she wisely chose not to respond. When he requested her number, she handed him her mother’s instead.
“Navarro made contact later that day, thinking he was speaking to the 14-year-old victim,” police said. “Instead, he was communicating with her mother, who immediately contacted us. Unbeknownst to Navarro, our detectives got involved and continued the conversation.”
Officials reported that Navarro’s text messages grew more and more explicit in nature.
“The conversation became more and more graphic with Navarro describing and asking for specific sex acts, without any regard for the age of the victim,” police said.
The Glendale Police Department shared screenshots from the text exchange. In a recent communication, Navarro stated, “I want to make you [redacted],” and then added, “Send me pictures.”
In a separate conversation, Navarro requested the young person to “keep our discussion just between us.”
Navarro consented to the meeting when asked.
“Within a few hours, Navarro arrived at the location but instead of the 14-year-old young lady, Navarro met up with some handcuffs and was placed under arrest,” the police department said.
A man faces allegations of enticing a minor for sexual exploitation and is currently detained with a bond set at $250,000.