The man is alleged to have paid more than $800 for an Uber to transport the girl from Texas. She quickly realized he wasn’t famous, but felt trapped.
Authorities say a Florida man pretended to be famous on Instagram to lure a 17-year-old Texan girl to his Orlando home, where he raped her repeatedly.
Online court records show Richard Brown, 25, was arrested Thursday. He is facing three charges of performing a sexual act on a 16 or 17-year-old child, three charges of sexual battery on a child aged 12-17, and one charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
According to an affidavit obtained by local media, Brown met the victim through Instagram where he told her was 19, rich, “Instagram famous,” and would take care of her.
After months of chatting through the app, he then allegedly paid more than $800 for the girl to travel via Uber to her home in San Antonio to his parents’ home in Apopka, northwest of Orlando, on Sunday.
The girl told authorities she quickly realized Brown wasn’t who he claimed to be, but that he pressured her into staying with him for three nights as he had paid for her journey.
She said she escaped on Wednesday night when he fell asleep.
According to local ABC affiliate WFTV9, Brown claimed he thought the girl was an adult. He said he was “only friends” with her and believed she was “in need of a place to stay.”
In court on Friday, Brown’s public defender said there were “several inconsistencies” in the police affidavit, Fox 35 reported.