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Twenty-five-year-old Ryan Alexander Steele was arrested and charged with online solicitation of a child and attempted sexual assault of a child.
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On March 26, Steele drove to La Porte from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is accused of waiting outside the girl's grandparents' house, where she was staying for the weekend, and asking her grandfather if she was home. Steele took off when the grandfather asked who he was and said the 15-year-old wasn't there.
"I'm just a guy that knows (her)," Steele reportedly told the man before leaving the home, according to charging documents.
Investigators said Steele first met the girl online when she was 10 years old. Documents say they would communicate on Instagram, Discord, and SMS text over the five-year time period. The child reportedly told her parents that the messages began to get explicit within the last few months.
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Charging documents show that Steele told the 15-year-old that he planned to take her back to Indiana to live with him and went into detail via text about the sexual intentions he had with her. Among graphic text messages, records show he claimed to have purchased sex toys to use on the child.
Authorities said they also have reason to believe Steele is in possession of child porn. He faces additional charges through the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
Law enforcement said if Steele is convicted, he could serve a minimum of 15 years of incarceration in a federal penitentiary in addition to any sentence imposed at the state level.