PASCO COUNTY, FL (970 WFLA) - A 23-year-old Spring Hill man is in the Land O'Lakes Jail today for allegedly luring a 12-year-old girl to have sex with him after meeting her and her friends through a new anonymous social media phone app.
Tyler Dempsey told Pasco detectives he used the phone app called Whisper to lure three girls, who detectives say claimed they were 15, to his sister's house. Once there, Dempsey offered the girls pot, and propositioned the 12-year-old for sex using slang words that the girl did not understand.
The app that Dempsey used is called Whisper, which is a free mobile app and is a form of anonymous social media, which allows users to post and share photo and video messages anonymously.
Pasco County cyber investigation detective Aaron Smith says his office struggles to keep up with the constantly changing technology.
"What I try to tell parents is that the apps change daily, and that we can't keep up necessarily with what's out there," he said."
"Any of these applications that allow chatting, that allow any sort of video streaming, especially live video steraming, you have to be very, very careful with."
Smith adds that no online app is completely anonymous, and warns parents to monitor their children's online activities.
Dempsey told detectives he was discharged from the U.S. Army, serving as an MP in Germany. He is charged with felony sexual battery of a minor and is being held without bond.
Photo Credit: Pasco Sheriff's Office