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A 21-year-old Tennessee man has been arrested in northern Michigan after authorities there say he tried to enroll in their local high school to date a student.
“I would strongly encourage parents to have conversations with their children about the dangers of online chatting and the sharing of information over the internet or social media platforms,” Sheriff Kim Cole said in a statement.
On the afternoon before Valentine’s Day, the unnamed suspect arrived at a district office on the shores of Lake Michigan and allegedly posed as a 17-year-old and provided multiple fake names and dates of birth.
The district employee called the building’s school resource officer, Deputy Luke Postma, who uncovered a series of inconsistencies in the Tennessee man’s story.
The Tennessee suspect faces charges of possession of child sexually abusive material, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and furnishing false information to a law enforcement officer.
“Although I wished this series of events never unfolded, I couldn’t be more proud of the MCC employees, Deputy Postma, and our detectives. Sadly, situations like this are playing out every day, where adults are preying upon our children.
Keith Freeksen, a 30-year-old registered sex offender from Michigan, was charged in the disappearance of a Washington state 14-year-old. (Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office)
For years, experts have warned about the dangers of children chatting with strangers on the internet.
In January, Washington state authorities warned parents about online chat apps after a 14-year-old girl vanished and later resurfaced in South Haven, Michigan.
They found her weeks later and arrested a 30-year-old registered sex offender named Keith Freeksen.
