Arizona cops say a 14-year-old girl stopped a suspected child predator in his tracks when she gave him her mother’s cell phone number instead of her own.
The Glendale Police Department wrote on Facebook, “Here is a great example of a young woman who thought quickly and did the right thing!”
Police say that Isaiah Navarro, 37, approached a 14-year-old girl as she walked home from school.
Police showed security video from the ring that showed the adult approaching the teen.
Investigators say the man tried to talk to the teen, but the girl knew better than to answer. When he asked for her number, she gave him that of her mother instead.
“Navarro made contact later that day, thinking he was speaking to the 14-year-old victim,” officials said. “Instead, he was talking to her mother, who called us right away.” Navarro didn’t know that our detectives joined the chat, but they did.
The police said that Navarro’s text messages were getting more and more sexual.
“The conversation became more and more graphic with Navarro describing and asking for specific sex acts, without any regard for the age of the victim,” officers said.
A picture of the text message was shared by the Glendale Police Department. After writing “I want to make you [redacted],” Navarro said in one message, “Send me pictures.”
Navarro asked the teen to “keep our conversation between me and you” in a different conversation.
Navarro agreed to meet up when asked.
“Within a few hours, Navarro arrived at the location but instead of the 14-year-old young lady, Navarro met up with some handcuffs and was placed under arrest,” police said.
He is being held on a $250,000 bond because he is accused of luring a child to be sexually exploited.
People on social media have since praised the girl for how quickly she thought of what to do.
Someone wrote, “That kid is so smart!” “I’m glad she didn’t get hurt.”
“Young lady, you are very brave. “The Glendale Police Department did a great job,” wrote someone else. “They could’ve just taken the report, but (in my opinion) went above and beyond to take a potentially dangerous predator off the streets.”
