A Hialeah man is behind bars after traveling across the state to meet with a 15-year-old girl and raping her, the sheriff's office said.
Polk County Sheriff's Office says, in May, Erick Rabelo, 27, met the 15-year-old girl over Snapchat. Two months later, the sheriff's office says he rented a motel room in Haines City, visited the child at her home and then raped her.
Deputies say they began investigating the incident on Monday morning when the child's mother received a text from Rabelo saying he was "dating" her daughter and got her pregnant.
"The victim’s mom did the right thing by immediately calling us," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. "This guy is so messed up that he actually got a tattoo on his forearm with the victim’s name and the date they met on Snapchat."
During their investigation, detectives say they recovered text messages Rabelo sent to the child, where he admitted to raping her and saying "I'm a pedophile."
Investigators were eventually able to make contact with Rabelo disguised as the teenager. In that conversation, he said he would purchase a plane ticket to fly from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport to Orlando International Airport.
On Monday afternoon, detectives say they followed Rabelo from Orlando and arrested him as soon as he crossed into Polk County.
He faces several felony charges including sexual battery, use of a computer to solicit a child for sex and aggravated stalking.
