It’s getting to where we can’t even trust friends of the family anymore, because too often, people use those friendships to gain the trust of pliable teenagers, our sons or daughters, and then take advantage of them.
A man and woman have each been charged with four counts of criminal sexual assault after they allegedly lured a 14-year-old girl into a hotel near Collinsville, Ill., near St Louis, gave her alcohol and drugs, and committed sexual acts on her, the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Anthony Redden Jr, 36, and Jennifer Smith, 33, both of Granite City, Ill., have been charged by the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office, but Mr Redden is now in custody in St Louis on unrelated criminal charges, awaiting extradition to Illinois. Ms Smith is being held in Edwardsville on $200,000 bail. They were reportedly friends of the girl’s family and used that tie to convince her to go to a Comfort Inn on the night of April 16, where the events allegedly occurred.
The St Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Mr Redden has previous felony convictions for drug possession and domestic battery.
That means it may have been possible to check public records about him, but what friend checks up on other friends these days, right?