A 31-year-old Florida man was arrested and charged with multiple felonies for allegedly hiding a 16-year-old Ohio girl in his house after meeting her online playing World of Warcraft, per Orlando Sentinel.
Thomas Ebersole initially denied knowing the teenager when officers with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office questioned him at his Dunnellon, Florida, home, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
The local branch of law enforcement had been contacted by the FBI to assist in their search for the missing teen and determined her gaming account had been linked to Ebersole’s address.
Ebersole “ultimately admitted” he had driven to Ohio to meet the teenager and “brought her back to his home,” the sheriff’s office said. He also said he was “in a romantic relationship” with the 16-year-old and was going to “hide her in his home with plans for her to become his wife,” law enforcement said.
Investigators said Ebersole showed them his messages with the teenage girl on Discord that “further outlined his plans to meet the victim in Ohio and engage in sexual activity despite knowing that he was committing a crime.”
He was charged with two felonies: traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual activity and interfering with child custody, and one misdemeanor: sheltering an unmarried minor.
Another pervert, get the wood chipper.