Man Accused Of Engaging In Sexual Acts With Teen He Met On Dating App
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BROWARD (CBSMiami) – A 25-year-old Lauderdale-by-the-Sea man is accused of engaging in sexual acts with a 14-year-old boy at a library in Coral Springs.
Robert Gittle appeared before a Broward County judge to face a number of charges, following his arrest by undercover detectives Saturday.
According to Coral Springs Police, Gittle, who claimed to be 18 years old, met the teen on the social media app, Grindr, back in March.
"They originally met through the social networking app Grindr and they exchanged phone numbers and from there they started talking and decided to meet here at the library in Coral Springs," said Coral Spring Police Department Detective Ernesto Bruna.
Police said the two met at the Northwest Regional Library in Coral Springs in May in the middle of the afternoon.
"They met there with the agreement that they were going to talk and it led to them having committed the sexual acts," said Det. Bruna.
Police said when the teen's parents found about the text messages, they contact detectives.
"The parents notified us of the possibly incident, of the message so our unit responded and it lead to the arrest by acting as a minor to meet at the library for a second time," said Det. Bruna.
Police believe there may be more victims out there. They warn parents about keeping an eye on what their kids are up to.
"It is very important to monitor the apps that they're using. There's plenty of them out there and there's new ones every day but it's important to kept up with it and put some security measures in order to know what they're doing and who they're meeting," said Det. Bruna.
Anyone with information about additional victims is asked to call the Coral Springs non-emergency line at (954) 344-1800 and ask for Detective Carter.
