NOVI (WWJ) - A 32-year-old woman is facing charges for child sexually abusive activity after she flew over a thousand miles from San Francisco to meet with a 15-year-old boy from Novi, police confirmed.
Lt. Jason Meier with the Novi Police Department told WWJ's Sandra McNeill they were first notified on Sunday evening by the teen's father, who said his son had been conversing online with an adult female from California.
Police were told the woman had flown to Metro Detroit and had sent Uber drivers to the boy's house to transport him to the Royal Oak Airbnb she had rented for a month.
"I think for that child, it became more than just fun talk online. It became real and it scared him," said Meier. "At his credit, he told somebody who then called us.
Related
Meier said their investigation led police to the rental property where the woman was staying in Royal Oak; Meier said the 32-year-old woman, Stephanie Sin of San Francisco, was not surprised when police came knocking.
Sin was arrested and charged with a two count warrant for child sexually abusive activity and using computer to commit a crime. Meier said both charges are 20-year felonies.
Sin is currently being held at the Oakland County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
According to police, Sin first made contact with the boy on an online social app when he was 14-years-old; the two exchanged texts and sexually explicit messages.
Meier said it is more important than ever for parents to have "that hard conversation" with their children about the dangers of social media and modern technology.
"We're seeing the ability of this to happen increasing, that's why it's important for parents to stay up ton the latest technology and talk to their kids about this because the kids know about the technology before we do as adults," Meier advised. "Then these predators find out what kids are talking on."
Related
"These things can turn dangerous," Meier warned. "We've seen that happen too many times luckily in this case, it was prevented."
Meier encouraged children to speak up if they've encountered similar situations. If they're uncomfortable speaking to police, Meier told children to talk to their parents, teachers and friends.
Meier said online chats can quickly escalate, such as the case with Sin.
"Kids a lot of the time think they're invulnerable, but it only takes one wrong movie to find out you're not," Meier said.
The investigation is ongoing and Meier said they expect more charges to be filed against Sin as more information comes to light.
