DAYTON — The mother of a 14-year-old rape victim she says she set up her own sting operation to catch the man she says sexually abused her daughter.
Gerald Pendergrass, 28, was arrested by U.S. Marshals Thursday morning after Dayton police got charges approved for multiple sex-related felonies, including unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, importuning and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
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News Center 7 does not normally identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but Nicole Kirkland contacted WHIO and wanted to warn other parents.
Kirkland told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that even after Pendergrass knew police were looking for him, he agreed to meet the daughter. At least who he thought was the daughter, but when he got off the bus to make that connection, he got a big surprise.
“He wanted to have sex, eat breakfast, get money and skip town,” Kirkland told WHIO.
Kirkland told us she turned the tables on Pendergrass, because he didn’t know she’d confiscated her daughters phone two months ago and he’d actually been communicating with her on Instagram.
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Some members of a U.S. Marshal’s SOFAST Task Force went to the house where the meetup was supposed to happen, but other marshals had already grabbed Pendergrass when he stepped off the bus.
“He would have took my kid and been gone, who tells someone to get their birth certificate and their social security card,” Kirkland said.
Kirkland told News Center 7 her story and it began when her daughter disappeared for two weeks last summer.
She says the 14-year-old teen was lured to leave home by a man she met through a friend, who she says ended up being Pendergrass.
But, while her child was missing, Pendergrass actually helped her search.
“He was in my car with me and my best friend,” Kirkland said.
Kirkland was shook but hoped things would return to normal when her daughter came home…but it got worse.
Her daughters secretive behavior on the phone made her take the device….and learned that man she identified as Pendergrass was communicating through Instagram.
“It’s disgusting, very graphic, porn to video, to you name it,” Kirkland said. “He was definitely trying to groom her, getting her to try to sell herself and everything.”
Kirkland contacted the detectives she’d reached out to when her daughter was missing.
They began gathering evidence and obtained an arrest warrant for Pendergrass.
Dayton Police accused him of having sex with the teen in court documents.
“Sick, sick and then when I heard this wasn’t the first time,” Kirkland said.
Public records show Pendergrass is a registered sex offender after a previous conviction for engaging sex with an underage girl in 2016.
Kirkland spoke to News Center 7 to warn other parents.
“Definitely, the message to other parents, to check your kids social media, know what they’re doing, know who they’re talking to,” Kirkland said. “We’re not in danger and we are definitely not afraid, like I told you earlier, we are not worried about him, he needs to be worried about us.”
A judge set Pendergrass’ bond at $5,000 in court Friday and if he’s able to pay that, he’ll be on electronic monitoring after his release from jail, according to court records.
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