18-year-old arrested for sexual activity with minor after explicit exchanges on WhatsApp
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — An 18-year-old man is in jail after being accused of engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl.
Elkin Rodasmatute was charged with one count of lewd or lascivious battery, one count of possession/viewing sexual performance of a child and one count of transmission of material harmful to minors, an arrest affidavit from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) says.
According to the arrest report, on April 4 the 13-year-old victim reported that she engaged in sexual activity with Rodasmatute at his residence.
The report says that a phone was obtained which obtained a video of the victim and Rodasmatute engaging in sexual activity. The phone further showed sexual text messages and nude photographs being exchanged.
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According to the arrest report, the victim and the Rodasmatute met on Instagram through a friend she used to have.
"Their conversations were normal conversations as friends," the report reads.
The victim and Rodasmatute's conversations eventually progressed to communicating via phone calls and text messages. The two also used WhatsApp to communicate, the report reads.
The investigation found on WhatsApp that from Feb. 5, 2023, to March 26, 2023, Rodasmatute sent numerous photos of him exposing himself and even urinating. Rodasmatute also sent three separate videos of himself, and the victim also sent explicit photos of herself, the report reads.
A video on Feb. 24, 2023, showed the victim and Rodasmatute engaging in sexual intercourse.
On June 6, detectives interviewed Rodasmatute who explained he was with the victim for approximately five months, but their relationship ended due to the mother finding out that the two had a sexual relationship, the affidavit reads.
The report says the mother discovered the two had been exchanging nude photographs and videos on WhatsApp.
According to the arrest report, during his interview, he told deputies that he knew she was 13 and that she told him her age a week into their communication.
In the report, Rodasmatute told deputies that when they did have sex it would happen at a trailer he used to live in near Lake Worth Ave and Haverhill Road in Palm Beach County.
Rodasmatute was booked into jail on June 6, 2023, at 10:38 p.m.