HOUSTON – A Houston man is facing multiple charges for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage College Station girl.
College Station police say on Oct. 5 they responded to a missing persons call and a search was begun. Later that day the 14-year-old girl called her residence to say that she was at a business in Houston. Police responded and took the girl to the hospital.
Detectives say the girl told them she met a man through social media and agreed to meet with him. She says he drove from Houston to College Station on Oct. 4 and picked up the girl and took her to a local hotel in College Station.
She told police she told the man she no longer wanted to be there with him and he agreed to take her home. But she says the man instead said he was taking her to Houston. He drove her to his apartment where she says he sexually assaulted her.
The victim also told investigators that he took videos or images of her with his cell phone. The next morning, the girl says he dropped her off at a Houston restaurant.
College Station police say their investigation revealed the suspect was Zachary Pierce Hocko and the victim confirmed his apartment address. Police say records show Hocko rented a room at the same hotel in College Station where the victim said she was taken.
"You have to be very cautious in the cyberworld. We have a lot of 'friends' on the social media sites, but we have to understand that there are people out there that will do things to harm us," said Lt. Chuck Fleeger with the College Station Police Department.
Hocko, 28, was taken into custody Thursday morning by Houston police and remains in jail. He is charged with aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault of a child and improper photography/visual recording.