Sandy man enticed teen online, sexually assaulted her, police say


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BOUNTIFUL — A man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl he met on social media has been arrested.

Bountiful police believe there may be additional victims and are asking for the public's help to find them.

Christopher Phillip Padilla, 25, of Sandy, was booked into the Davis County Jail Wednesday for investigation of two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and enticing a minor over the Internet.

Bountiful Police Lt. Dave Edwards said Padilla and a 14-year-old Bountiful girl had made contact on a couple of websites. He wasn't sure Thursday where the initial contact was made, but noted that the chat room website meetme.com was one place they talked, and most recently they used the online messaging service KIK to communicate, he said.

On Feb. 12, police say Padilla convinced the girl to meet him. He drove to Bountiful where she sneaked out of her house to meet him, Edwards said. They drove to a city park where Padilla sexually assaulted the girl, he said.

"The victim told Padilla she was 14 and not ready to have sex," according to a Davis County Jail report. When another vehicle pulled into the parking lot, Padilla quickly got dressed and drove away, police say.

Padilla allegedly continued to contact the girl through KIK. When her mother discovered what was happening, she contacted police. A detective then posed as the girl as Padilla continued to contact her.

Edwards did not know Thursday if Padilla told the young girl his real age. But based on the texts he sent her, investigators believed he was not a juvenile, he said.

Padilla's texts were graphic and disturbing, telling the detective who was posing as the teenage girl what he wanted to do to her and telling her to call him "Daddy," the report states.

Just before 9 p.m. on Wednesday, the detective said he would meet Padilla at Boulton Elementary in Bountiful. When he showed up, police arrested him.

As of Thursday, Edwards said police believed there was at least one other person, a 17-year-old girl, who Padilla met online. He did not know if the two ever met.

Because of the fear of additional victims, Bountiful police are asking anyone who might have had contact with Padilla, or knows someone who did, to contact them at 801-298-6000.

Edwards said the incident is a good reminder for all parents to monitor their children's online activities.

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