MEMPHIS, Tenn. —A 43-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after his alleged interactions with a teenage girl came to light.
According to police, officers were called to the 8000 block of Dexter Road on Sunday and found a 2018 Toyota backed into a parking spot. In the back, the officer located a man, later identified as James Hook, and a 16-year-old girl underneath a blanket.
The girl stated Hook had picked her up early that morning and drove her to the park. She claimed they did not have sex. However, during another encounter at the park, the girl said Hook had taken off her shirt and proceeded to touch and kiss her chest.
In all, the pair had reportedly made several trips to the park for privacy.
Police noted that both Hook and the victim described themselves as being in a father/daughter relationship. At one point, Hook had reportedly told the girl that he wanted to be a father figure to her. He was listed in her phone as “daddy” and she would go to him for advice, police said.
Hook even gave the girl a ring because “daddy’s give their daughters rings until they get married,” the police report said.
We went to Hook’s address to get his side of the story. A woman answered the door and said he wasn’t there.
“Any offender may look very charming and enticing to them, because they may have money and they may be really nice to them. So it’s pretty easy to get trapped in a bad relationship,” Sandy Bromley, with The Shelby County Crime Victims and Rape Crisis Center, said.
Hook told investigators he knew that he was doing wrong, but he didn’t care. He was charged with sexual battery by an authority figure and solicitation of a minor.