A man borrowing his 11-year-old niece's phone was surprised when the girl received a Facebook message from a grown man. The uncle's actions following the receipt of the message led to the arrest of a 30-year-old man who allegedly tried to meet the girl for sex.
The girl's uncle told police that when his niece's phone received the message, he responded, purporting to be the girl. His intent in responding, he told police, was "to get him caught." According to the uncle, Justin De Tar arranged a meeting with him, believing that he was in fact the young girl, saying he would pick her up at a Sapulpa McDonald's. The uncle then notified police about the incident and told them of the meeting arrangements.
When police arrived at the restaurant, they found De Tar in his car waiting for the girl to arrive. De Tar allegedly admitted to police that he was waiting to meet a the girl for sex, but that he believed she was 16 years old. As you may know, the age of legal consent in Oklahoma is 16; however, statutory rape is a per se offense, meaning that a person who has sex with a minor is still guilty of second degree rape, even if he or she believed the minor to be of age to provide legal consent.
In this case, however, police allegedly discovered Facebook messages from May which indicated he knew she was a minor. Reports say De Tar asked the girl how old she was, and she replied that she was 10 years old.
As police searched the suspect's phone, they also allegedly discovered multiple images of child pornography and "dozens of internet searches for dad, mom, and daughter sex."
Police say upon interviewing the man, he admitted to intending to meet the girl for sex despite knowing she was a minor and knowingly possessing child pornography.
Sapulpa police arrested De Tar on complaints of lewd proposals to a child under 16 and possession of child pornography. He is held in the Tulsa County Jail on $35,000 bond.
The suspect's criminal record includes marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, and multiple counts of burglary of an automobile. He was also named in a protective order filed in May in Rogers County, which accuses him of harassing and threatening a woman who used to live with him. From December 2008 until March 2013, he was in prison for larceny of an automobile, and in October 2014, he completed a 7-year suspended sentence for conviction of being an accessory to first degree murder.
His criminal record available through an online court records search does not indicate any crimes related to child pornography or sex offenses against minors.
If convicted of lewd proposals to a child under 12, the defendant faces 25 years to life in prison.
