By james art A quick-thinking 14-year-old girl outsmarted a would-be predator when she gave him her mother’s cellphone number instead of her own, and the scoundrel unwittingly exchanged graphic text messages with cops.
The Arizona teenager was walking home from school when she crossed the road in front of Isaiah Navarro’s car in a residential neighborhood in Glendale on Oct. 16, the Glendale Police Department said in a Facebook statement Wednesday.
Security video shows Navarro, 37, catching the girl’s attention as she crosses the road and he starts trying to talk to the unidentified 14-year-old girl.
The teenager told police Navarro asked her where the “nearest McDonald’s was” before randomly asking her to get into his car.
The 37-year-old quickly asked for the teenager’s number when she declined his offer.
Wanting to get out of the situation as quickly as possible, but without putting herself at risk, she “thought wisely of punching her mother’s cell phone number into his phone,” police said.
Later that day, Navarro called the mother’s phone, believing it was the teenager.
However, her mother had already handed the phone over to the police.
Detectives then struck up a conversation with the alleged predator while pretending to be a teenager.
“The conversation became increasingly graphic, with Navarro describing and asking about specific sexual acts without any regard for the victim’s age,” police said.
Images shared by the department of alleged text messages between Navarro and officers show him asking for “photos” and keeping their “conversation” private.
During the call, Navarro repeatedly asked to meet the teenager, calling the number up to 30 times.
Investigators said a few hours later, they picked a meeting place and “instead of the 14-year-old young lady, Navarro was met in handcuffs and arrested.”
“Here is an excellent example of a young lady who was quick to think on her feet and do the right thing!” the department wrote, praising the 14-year-old girl.
“We at the Glendale Police Department applaud this young lady for her courage and smart thinking!”
Navarro was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on charges of enticing a minor for sexual exploitation and attempting to engage in sexual conduct with a minor, according to the department.
He is currently being held on $250K bond.