Man travels from Michigan to Lakeville to meet 13-year-old girl from social media: Charges

LAKEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities are looking for a 21-year-old man who allegedly drove from Michigan to Minnesota to see a 13-year-old girl he met on a video chatting website. 

Lakeville Police officers received a report on Jan. 29 about a 13-year-old girl believed to have been sexually assaulted by a man she had met on the video chatting website Omegle, according to charges. 

The girl said she met the man in October on Omegle, and they continued to speak on social media over the next several months. The girl said she told 21-year-old Maxwell Beardsley that she was 13 years old and in middle school. 

Around New Year's Beardsley told the girl he wanted to see her, and on Jan. 27, he drove hundreds of miles from Michigan to Lakeville to meet her in person, according to the criminal complaint. 

The charges say the teen met up with Beardsley at a hotel in Lakeville where the alleged sexual assault occurred. Investigators say Beardsley booked the hotel online, and officers collected evidence from the room, which they say corroborated the teen's account. 

The teen's mother contacted police after learning about the alleged assault. Police say Beardsley left Minnesota and went back to Michigan. There is a warrant out for his arrest. 

Beardsley was charged in Dakota County court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct of a child under the age of 14. When arrested, prosecutors requested bail be set at $250,000 without conditions or $100,000 with conditions, including not leaving Minnesota without written court approval, according to court documents.