Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SOUTH JORDAN — Two men — one from Florida and one from Texas — are facing criminal charges tied to a missing and endangered 15-year-old South Jordan girl.
Last week, Matthew Nicholas Menard, 35, of Miami, was charged in Utah's 4th District Court with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony; plus enticing a minor and three counts of criminal solicitation, class A misdemeanors.
On May 12, William Taylor Glines, 37, of Texas City, Texas, was charged in 4th District Court with two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, first-degree felonies; two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; plus enticement of a minor and three counts of criminal solicitation, a class A misdemeanor.
Police believe both men communicated with 15-year-old Alisa Petrov before she left school on April 21. She has not been seen since.
"South Jordan police will continue its efforts to locate Alisa and follow other leads," the department announced Tuesday.
Menard had been talking to Alisa on social media for months, leading up to her running away, according to charging documents.
"The conversations are largely sexual in nature," the charges state. At one point, Menard allegedly discussed meeting up with the girl in Las Vegas.
"(Menard) over the course of several months, corresponded with (the teen) for the purpose of soliciting sex, sodomy, and child sex abuse material from the minor. (He) discussed in graphic detail his intent to sexually abuse the child. (He) encouraged and engaged with (the teen) all from the state of Florida, where all his substantial ties to the community and resources are. (Menard) has no connection to Utah," the charges state.
Police say Alisa was dropped off by her mother at school at 9:30 a.m. on April 21.
"The juvenile never went to class and was later located on security cameras at a nearby gas station. She was later given a ride by an unknown male to the UTA TRAX station in American Fork, where she traveled to Provo. She was last seen on surveillance footage in Provo on foot," according to several search warrant affidavits unsealed in 3rd District Court.
While searching her room, police reported finding an iPad hidden in her dresser.
"The iPad was later searched, and I located numerous alarming conversations and media within. I discovered a hidden Instagram account the juvenile had, where she had been conversing with an individual with the profile name 'Matt.' I read through their conversations, which were lengthy. I discovered Matt had identified himself to this juvenile as a 35-year-old male living in Miami. In their conversations, the juvenile is clear with Matt regarding her age being 15, and he makes many statements confirming his knowledge of this," the lead investigators wrote in one of the warrants.
The warrants further state that "Matt and the victim also have extensive conversations where they plan on the juvenile running away from home to meet him in Las Vegas. Matt tells the victim he will fly to Las Vegas for a business trip later in May, and she can lay low until he gets there. They then planned to fly to Los Angeles together for several days before ultimately going back to Miami where Matt lives.
"They discuss methods in which the victim can travel without being tracked and avoid detection. They also discuss their future plans and how they can create a false scenario where Matt tells people she is his daughter," the affidavits allege.
Police said they discovered after Alisa went missing that she had also been communicating with Glines on social media.
"During the entirety of (Glines') conversations with (her), the conversations are largely sexual and sadomasochistic in nature," charging documents state. He also instructed her "to continue participating in actions that she told (Glines) were causing a negative impact on her mental health."
An arrest warrant has been issued for Glines in Utah.
On May 9, the Texas City Police Department put an alert on its Facebook page asking the public to be on the lookout for Alisa. A complaint filed in Galveston County in Texas on May 8 states that Alisa "used a stranger's phone at a busy stop in Utah" to send Glines a message stating she was safe.
Police encourage anyone with information about where Alisa is to contact their local law enforcement agency immediately. "Alisa is listed as a runaway juvenile who is endangered," South Jordan police said. "Alisa is attempting to meet individuals she met online using multiple social media platforms and chat applications."
Alisa's family is offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to her safe return,
"Alisa, if you can see this, please know that we love you, we will always love you. We miss you, All of your friends and our friends are very worried too. We all want you to come back home. You will not get in trouble for running away. We are not mad at you. We absolutely love you regardless of what happened, and you are welcome home at any time. We just want you to return back so that we are together as a happy family who care about each other, and we will try our hardest to make you happy. Please come back," her family wrote on FindAlisa.com.
