Man Traveled To Meet 14-Year-Old Girl In North Port: Police

NORTH PORT, FL — A Palmetto man traveled to a North Port park Thursday evening expecting to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex, authorities said.

To the surprise of Harold Junior Castro Rodriguez, 25, he was met by members of the North Port Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team instead, the agency said.

Prior to the meeting, he used a chat app to reach out to who he thought was a teenage girl but was really a detective.

Rodriguez was charged with using an electronic device in an attempt to lure and then meet a child and using a communication device to facilitate a felony. He is in Sarasota County Jail with no bond.

“This should be a warning to anyone who is reaching out to the children of our city,” Chief Todd Garrison said. “You may not be talking with who you think you are. We will do everything within our authority to protect our kids and we will do everything within the law to hold you accountable. I am thankful and proud of the dedicated men and women of this department who fight for our smallest residents.”

Rodriguez is currently in the Sarasota County Jail with no bond.