A 12-year-old girl was located safe on Tuesday after she disappeared with a man she met through an online app. The suspect is now behind bars, accused of luring the child in and sexually assaulting her.
ABC13 reports that Jorge Bastida, 22, was training to become a school police officer with Cy-Fair ISD, but has since resigned following an arrest for allegedly luring in a young girl her met off of the “Meetme” app. He’s now facing an aggravated sexual assault of a child charge.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the victim used a school iPad to access the app, where she reportedly met Bastida, who went by the name “Jay” online. The pair exchanged a final message at midnight, shortly before the girl disappeared.
“I was very surprised. Uncharacteristic of our profession. It shocked all of us,” Lt. Chris Brown of Deer Park police said.
According to the arrest warrant, Bastida sent an Uber to pick up the girl at her Deer Park home. She was dropped off at the suspect’s house in Cypress, then the pair left for a hotel in Huffmeister. Bastida reportedly admitted that he sexually assaulted the girl while at the hotel.
Uber enforces a policy that no one under 18 can be picked up without the accompaniment of an adult. The company released a statement shortly after the incident.
“We are devastated to hear about this report. We stand ready to provide any information to the authorities that will be helpful for their investigation.”
Cy-Fair ISD said Bastida was never alone with children at the school.
“The employee, who resigned while being investigated, was in a training program and was always under the direct supervision of a field training officer in CFISD. These allegations are heartbreaking to the more than 16,000 other employees who represent CFISD with integrity.”
Deer Park police continue to investigate the case.
[Feature Photo: Jorge Bastida/Police Handout]