SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 22, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A Provo man was arrested after the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl he met on a dating site.
A probable cause statement from the 3rd District Court of Summit County said Tyler Austin Erickson, 20, is facing charges of:
- Rape of a child, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony
- Enticing a minor by Internet or text, a second-degree felony
- Lewdness involving a child, a class A misdemeanor
On Jan. 16, Erickson was investigated after it was discovered that he had allegedly been sexually active with a 12-year-old female, the statement said.
“A Children’s Justice Center interview was conducted with the juvenile and she disclosed that she and Tyler had met on a dating site and arranged to meet at her residence,” the statement said. “Tyler and the juvenile met approximately three weeks ago at the juvenile’s home located in Marion City in Summit County. The juvenile said in the interview that she told Tyler that she was a 12-year-old girl and Tyler responded that he was a 20-year-old-male via social media.”
The juvenile stated that once they had met they were in her grandma’s shed in the loft area. The juvenile said that they were caught by the juvenile’s grandma laying naked under blankets, the statement said.
“After a search of the juvenile’s cell phone it was discovered and confirmed that the juvenile and Tyler had arranged to meet,” the statement said. “A picture of a male matching Tyler was located on the juvenile’s phone which tied him to the case. The next photo in the juvenile’s cell phone was a conversation between the juvenile and Tyler. The conversation was talking about meeting at the juvenile’s residence.”
The juvenile advised Erickson to park down the street to avoid being seen by her grandparents. A photo was also seen of Erickson’s GPS coordinates showing him at the juvenile’s residence. It was also discovered that the juvenile and Erickson were talking about having a baby together, the statement said.
The phone number, Snapchat and Instagram accounts that were used to contact the juvenile were investigated and all belonged to Erickson, the statement said.
On Jan. 21, Erickson was interviewed at the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. Erickson told officials used both social media and text message to arrange a meeting with the juvenile “to have intercourse.”
“Tyler also stated he knew her age and told her his age,” the statement said. “Tyler stated that they were in the shed where the juvenile lived and he and the juvenile had fully undressed and were laying under a blanket together.”
Erickson also confirmed that he and the juvenile had talked about having a baby together.
“Tyler told me that he knew what he was doing was wrong but still decided to go and meet the juvenile with intent to have sex,” the statement said.
Erickson was booked into the Summit County Jail with his bail set at $61,950.
