Trevor D. Spradlin (Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office)
A 20-year-old man in Florida has been arrested after he allegedly traveled nearly 200 miles to engage in sexual acts with a juvenile girl whom he met on the social media app Tiktok. Trevor D. Spradlin was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with one count of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office at about 12:47 a.m. on April 5 responded to a 911 call from a woman requesting assistance in connection with a juvenile girl allegedly “meeting someone for sex.” The woman told the emergency dispatcher that she had the alleged suspect’s car “blocked in at the driveway.”
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders say they located Spradlin in the driver’s seat of his 2005 Nissan Maxima, which was parked on the caller’s property. The juvenile victim was in the front seat of the car. The two were then separated and interviewed separately.
The victim allegedly told police that she was 14 years old and in a “dating relationship” with Spradlin, “who she knew to be 20 years old,” the affidavit states. At one point in the interview, the victim allegedly asked if Spradlin was “going to jail,” stating that the reason would be “because she was 14 and because Spradlin was 20.”
Police say she confirmed that she and Spradlin had been “sexually intimate and had sexual contact” in the last week.
Spradlin allegedly told police that he’d driven from Ocala to Charlotte County — about 180 miles — to meet the victim two weeks prior, but said that he and the victim were “friends only” and “were not dating.”
“He also advised he has not been physical with the Victim other than holding hands and kissing,” the affidavit states. “He also advised he met the Victim through TikTok and has been communicating with her via cellphone.”
The victim’s mother told police that when she met Spradlin, he told her that he was only 16, adding that she did not know he was 20 until police arrived at the home and identified him by his driver’s license. The mother said she never would have let Spradlin hang around her daughter if she knew his real age.
Spradlin was transported to the sheriff’s headquarters where he allegedly provided additional details on his relationship with the victim.
Spradlin told investigators that he met the victim through TikTok on March 21 and the two soon began texting each other, claiming he initially believed the victim was 18, the affidavit states. It wasn’t until he had driven from Ocala to meet the victim for the first time in person on March 26 that she told him she was 16.
“Spradlin said he looked up the laws and learned a 20-year-old could date a 16-year-old, so he thought it would be ok,” the affidavit states. “The Victim asked Spradlin to tell [her mother] he was only 16, to which he agreed.”
The sexual conduct took place inside Spradlin’s vehicle, which broke down when he dropped the victim back at her home. The victim’s family then drove him back to Ocala. The family also picked him up in Ocala and brought him back to retrieve his car on April 5. However, when Spradlin and the victim decided they wanted to go for a “joyride” first, the 911 call was made, per the affidavit.
It was not immediately clear what caused the victim’s family to contact 911 after picking up Spradlin and bringing him to the home.
Spradlin was booked at the Charlotte County Jail and is scheduled to appear for his arraignment on May 8.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
