Photo: Robert Edward Davies
SAN JOSE – Perhaps you have heard of dating apps like Tinder, Match.com, EHarmony and other social media sites. 40-year-old Robert Edward Davies, who was identified as a San Mateo Police Officer, was arrested due to a private citizen’s complaint when he started chatting online with a user pretending to be 16.
Often predators will try to talk to or socialize with a group of young teens or even seek out an individual. They may try to get their Snapchat Id and/or try and engage in other means to entice the teen by inviting them to a restaurant or Arcade.
Parents should always monitor their teen’s whereabouts and always question who they are meeting, especially when a teen is able to use alternative means of transportation such as Lyft or Uber.
In this incident, the user of the profile quickly realized that the unprovoked contact would soon open a case leading San Jose Police Department Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force / Child Exploitation Detail (CED) investigators to arrest the suspect. Evidence collected by investigators showed that Davies had solicited sex with the victim, even after the victim stated they were not 19, but in fact only 16-years of age.
Davies was arrested on Thursday, June 6, 2019, at his home in Morgan Hill and now faces charges for contacting a minor to commit a felony (felony) – 288.3(a) PC.
According to Garcia, Detectives discovered the tipster began chatting with Davies on Tinder on Saturday, May 11, 2019, but soon switched apps to Kik where the tipster told Davies she was 16 years old. Then Davies asked her to switch to Snapchat, where they also discussed her being 16 years-old and chatted about engaging in sexual activity.
Sergeant Garcia noted the number of arrests in April and May in which local law enforcement agencies participated in what is known as “Operation Broken Heart.” Garcia said, “The Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children, and/or SVICAC arrested 48 suspected child predators and participated in over 35 community presentations on Internet/Social Media Safety to over 2,900 youth and adults.”
He continued, “The intent of the agency is to target suspects who produce or distribute child pornography, engage or entice children for sexual purposes, engage in child sex trafficking, and who travel across state lines or foreign soil to engage in sexual acts with a minor.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident or any other similar incidents are urged to contact Detective Michael O’Grady of the San Jose Police Department’s ICAC/CED Unit at 408-537-1397.
