Local case is textbook example of social media manipulation
NEW PHILADELPHIA – The case of a missing 15-year-old Tuscarawas County girl found in Wisconsin with a married man highlights the dangers of social media for children. Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Captain Detective Adam Fisher says the two first met on a social media platform, and it appears the 24-year-old man lied about his age.
“It does appear that this is one of those textbook things of what we in law enforcement and others warn the community about,” Fisher said. “These relationships are established or made and are oftentimes misleading as to ages. There is some suggestion that in this particular case that this suspect had originally misled the juvenile and her parents that he was only a year in age difference from her.”
Fisher says the girl left her house around midnight Sunday and drove with the man to Wisconsin where they were found that same afternoon using license-plate-reading cameras. He says without modern technology, the girl would probably still be missing. Meanwhile, Fisher says the man, Jordan Romine of Dayton, faces one initial charge of interference with custody.
“While it may appear that our juvenile victim willingly was with the suspect at certain aspects of this along their travels, it’s definitely alarming how much manipulation took place to get them to this point,” Fisher said. “These scenarios that we hear about … they’re not made-up scenarios. They do happen here. These situations occur frequently, and social media is facilitating these relationships forming because we can be anybody we want to be on the other side of a keyboard or the other side of screen.”
Romine was in jail in Wisconsin awaiting extradition back to Ohio where more charges are likely.