PHOENIX, AZ - Two men in their twenties have been arrested after allegedly picking up a 17-year-old girl from New Mexico and sexually assaulting her in an Arizona hotel room.
The alleged suspects, 22-year-old Preston McKee and 21-year-old Brodie Hester, were arrested by the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) on August 5 and are facing several charges of sexual conduct with a minor, according to court records reviewed by PEOPLE.
McKee and Hester reportedly drove six hours to New Mexico to pick up the teenager after they connected on a dating app. She told them two men she was 18. The trio drove back to Phoenix, where the men learned of her real age after receiving a call from a detective in New Mexico and discovering her state ID, according to court documents.
The girl told forensic interviewers that McKee and Hester then took her to a hotel where they put a "kinky mask" over her face, a ball gag in her mouth, and tied her up before sexually assaulting her.
She claimed she was let go in the middle of the desert and sought help at a nearby Chipotle. Hester initially said he and the girl only kissed, but then admitted in a police interview that they had sex with her four times, including after finding out she was a minor. The age of consent in Arizona is 18.
McKee also reportedly admitted to police that he had sex with the girl after discovering she was 17. Hester is facing three counts of sexual conduct with a minor and is being held on a $251,000 bond. McKee is facing two counts and is being held on a $200,000 bond. Both men are expected in court on Wednesday, August 12.
There are many dangers when it comes to dating apps, according to AZ Family. "I was so sad for the experience of this 17-year-old girl,” said Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, a professor of social work and director of the Arizona State University Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research.
“That she has run away three times, that there are so many risks that she is facing, [and] that the family that she has is struggling to support her. And then of course, for these two young men to make that decision to have sex with a person who is under the age of 18 knowingly is a real challenge to their character, their integrity."
There are currently thousands of missing people across the state, with harrowing stories like this one becoming increasingly common, Roe-Sepowitz said. "We hear stories about online dating apps all the time,” Roe-Sepowitz said. “We know that there are traffickers on those apps. We know that there are predators on those apps."
Experts say the case highlights a deeper, systemic issue that goes beyond digital safety. "So we go back to this idea that we have to train boys and men that their job is not to exploit girls and women,” Roe-Sepowitz said. “It is their job to protect girls and women."
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