The parents gave the deputy investigating this case permission to access their daughters Facebook and email account. The deputy was able to locate nude images of the 16-year-old female. He also found several sexually explicit messages from an individual who identified himself as Timothy Lowe.
On July 19th, 2011 Sex Crimes Detectives met with the parents of the alleged victim. The parents provided additional information which helped to substantiate their accusations.
On July 26th, 2011 the 16-year-old victim was interviewed. She did admit to sending nude photos of herself to a male she knew as Timothy Lowe who she had met through a friend. She also admitted they had talked about sex and he had touched her private areas.
Detectives were able to obtain a search warrant for a residence in the 8900 block of West Swansea Drive, Arizona City. This is the address detectives learned Lowe was residing at with his parents. On August 1st, 2011 Lowe was taken into custody without incident.
Lowe admitted he knew the victim was only 16-years-old. He further stated he touched her private areas on two occasions and also requested nude photos of her. Lowe told detectives he planned to have sexual intercourse with the girl on the day her parents found out about their relationship. Once he knew her parents had found out the two did not meet.
Lowe also told detectives he has had two other recent relationships with girls under the age of 18 through Facebook. One of the girls had sent him nude photos of herself as well. Detectives seized his computer and other items of evidence.
Timothy Lowe was booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center for three counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Child Molestation. He is currently being held on a $100,000 bond. Additional charges are pending as we continue this investigation.
Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “Facebook and other social networking tools are being used by sexual predators to lure their victims. Individuals are allowed to post information and photos without any of the information being verified. Unfortunately, in cases like these, we cannot restore lost innocence to the young victims who have been exploited by sexual predators like Timothy Lowe. Parents need to talk with their children about the dangers involved with communicating to people through social media.”
