by Marcus Washington
*Warning: Story includes quotes from text messages recovered by police that are graphic in nature.
NASHVILLE,
TENN. – A 45-year-old man was arrested for solicited a 14-year-old girl for sex
via text message, and what's worse; the suspect is the father of one of the
teen girl's friends.
The teen's
mother spoke to NewsChannel5. To protect her daughter Jen did not want to
reveal her identity, but she wants her message heard loud and clear.
"I just
think parents can never ask enough questions of what their kids are doing.
Going behind them and checking the text messaging, pictures, different things
like that," said the mother.
This comes
after Jen's 14-year-old daughter started receiving text messages from someone
she didn't know.
Jen says the
first message received said something along the lines of, "you're
hot."
Soon the tone
of those messages started to change, even asking for naked photos.
Another text
said, "Hey text me back and don't tell ___ im texting you or I swear ill
call your parents tonight."
"She
knew something didn't add up about it. I think that the person who told her not
to tell her friends, so that kind of gave it away too," said Jen.
The
14-year-old thought these messages were from her friend's father, 45-year-old
Richard C. Maule.
When at
summer school at Hillwood High School, she asked the messenger what he wanted.
He replied "I want to f***."
Jen said,
"as soon as she received those explicit text messages she went directly to
her teacher at school."
At this point
the teacher called police and Jen.
A detective
with the Metro Nashville Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force took over the texting, posing as the 14-year-old girl, asking Maule
why he wanted to have sex with her.
He replied,
"cause you're hot are you cool with that."
When asked
what he wanted to do, Maule replied, "eat finger and f***."
The detective,
posing as the girl, set a time to meet with Maule at a nearby pool.
The final message
from Maule when he arrived read, "ok go too the bathroom, take a couple of
towels to lay down on and ill meet you there."
Instead of
meeting a 14-year-old girl, Maule was met by a Metro police detective and
arrested.
Investigators
said it looked as if Maule was able to get the 14-year-old's number from his
child's cell phone.
Maule was
being held Friday night on $75,000 bond. He was being charged with soliciting a
minor for the purpose of statutory rape and soliciting the sexual exploitation
of a minor.
Email: mwashington@newschannel5.com
