NEW RIEGEL, Ohio — A 40-year-old man from Oregon, Ohio, was arrested just after midnight in Seneca County on Tuesday on charges of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile and Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor after sheriff's deputies found him in a car with a 14-year-old.
According to the Seneca County Sheriff's Office, deputies were patrolling the village of New Riegel when they came across a car parked in a parking lot. Deputies discovered Victor West and the 14-year-old in the car and "discovered the two met on a social media app and met up with one another in the parking lot."
The juvenile was also charged with delinquency, the sheriff's office said.
The case is an ongoing investigation.
“Due to the nature of the online world, young people can easily place a stronger emotional connection with online-only relationships at the expense of friends and family that they know in real life," Sheriff Fredrick Stevens said in a Facebook post from the sheriff's office. "Not everyone children meet online will have the right intentions, so it’s important to discuss the risk surrounding online dating such as online grooming and also what signs to look out for to avoid putting themselves in unsafe situations."
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