Man Charged in Soliciting 12-Year-Old Online: Howard County Police

A man who asked a 12-year-old girl to cut school and meet him at at a Columbia shopping center so they could have sex has been charged, Howard County police reported Wednesday.

Vincent Paul Hill, 21, of Upper Marlboro, was charged with sexual solicitation of a minor on Feb. 13, online court records show.

Police said that Hill was communicating with a 12-year-old girl on Kik, an app that allows people to send instant messages containing text, photos and other multimedia content.

When the girl reported to police that a user named “Vinc Hill” had been sending her sexually explicit photos and messages on Kik, detectives posed as the girl on her account, according to the Howard County Police Department.

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Over the course of two days, detectives received photos and messages that were sexually explicit from the user, who provided sufficient information for detectives to identify him as Vincent Paul Hill, police reported.

After the man solicited the girl to engage in sex acts, suggesting she cut school and meet him at the Harper’s Choice Village Center, police were there waiting for him and arrested Hill, according to the report.

Hill was charged and released on $75,000 bond, police reported.

Howard County Police Department asked parents to be vigilant, issuing this statement:

Police are reminding parents to be aware of their children’s use of social media.

Kik offers instant messaging of texts, photos and other multi-media content. Cyber safety experts have reported that part of the app’s appeal to children and teens is that it does not require the use of mobile phone numbers, so contact information cannot be tracked by parents like traditional text messaging through a mobile carrier.

The app description on iTunes reads, ’You must be at least 17 years old to download this app,’ for ’Frequent/Intense Mature/Suggestive Themes,’ but proof of age is not required.

Anyone else who may have been solicited by Hill may contact the Howard County Police Department at 410-313- STOP.

Photo of Vincent Hill courtesy of Howard County Police Department.