Lake Placid man arrested after allegedly communicating obscenely with teen online
Courtesy: Highlands County Sheriff's Office
LAKE PLACID, Fla. - Stephen Matthew Weismore, 23, is behind bars after allegedly having sexually explicit online chats with a 14-year-old girl, according to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said he also exposed himself and asked her to expose herself.
Police in Indianola, Iowa, where the victim lives, discovered the inappropriate relationship between Weismore and the teen and contacted the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit.
According to the HCSO, the two began an online relationship when they connected via Instagram, then began video chatting on Google Hangout. Chat records show that Weismore knew the victim’s age.
Weismore was arrested in DeSoto County and will be taken to Highlands County to face charges of transmitting information harmful to minors, obscene communication to a minor via computer, using a computer to seduce, solicit or lure a child and using a two-way device to facilitate a felony.
If convicted of all charges Weismore faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.