SPRING, Texas – A California woman has been arrested for soliciting a minor Houston girl online.
According to investigators, Alyssia Renee Perkins, 20, used Instagram, Skype and text messages to communicate with a 12-year-old girl in Spring. The conversations became sexual when Perkins sent nude images of herself to the girl and asked the girl to do the same, said investigators.
"The typical grooming functions... 'I'm your friend. I love you. I'm your best friend.' The girl was looking for attention and the predator gave it to her," said Sgt. Gary Spurger with the High Tech Crimes Unit at the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.
The girl's mother contacted authorities on October 7 after discovering the text messages. Perkins traveled to Houston on October 11 from San Diego to assure the mother she was not a threat.
Sgt. Spurger said Perkins had originally planned to meet the girl during a trip to Houston but those plans changed when the girl's mother found out about the texts and cut off communications between the pair.
At that point, investigators say Perkins reached out to the girl's mother and arranged a meeting via text message. Unbeknownst to Perkins, she was actually texting investigators.
"The mother never actually talked to her. We did the communications between what she thought was the mother to the suspect," said Sgt. Spurger.
Perkins was taken into custody Friday morning at a hotel in the Greenspoint area. Spurger said during an interview with Perkins, the woman acknowledged she was aware of the girl's age and what she was doing was inappropriate.
Perkins was booked into the Harris County Jail. She is charged with two counts of online solicitation of a minor. Both are third degree felonies.