Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - CHILD MOLEST SUSPECT, 23, POSES AS SCHOOL GIRL, "DATES" LITTLE BOYS

Episode Date: June 3, 2024

Tampa PD responds to reports of shoplifting at a Nordstrom department store, speaking with teen suspects who say they’re dating. Alyssa Zinger tells cops her birthday is January 15th, 2009, putting her age at 14 years old.  When officers try to verify her identity, they can only find a 22-year-old Alyssa Zinger, born in 2001. When confronted with that inconsistency, Zinger says she ‘has a half-sister with the same name.’ The store declines to press charges and both suspects are free to go.  After the shoplifting incident, Tampa PD combs through government, school, and employment records to determine Alyssa Zinger, 14, and the 22-year-old half sister with the same name... are the same person. A teen boy then reports he has had a sexual relationship with Zinger for over 5 months. The victim says he met Zinger on Snapchat, where she introduced herself as a homeschooled 14-year-old. The boy says they had sex multiple times, and she sent him explicit photos and videos. He says he ended the relationship when he learned her true age.  Alyssa Zinger is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery and five counts of lewd and lascivious molestation.  She posts bond on all seven charges and moves in with her parents as the case proceeds. Soon after, 4 more victims under the age of 15 come forward, claiming Zinger sent them videos of other minors engaged in sexual intercourse. One victim says Zinger spoke about having sex with other teens. Zinger is arrested for a second time, and charged with two additional counts each of lewd and lascivious battery and molestation, two counts of child pornography, and cyber sexual harassment. Zinger is denied bond and access to electronics while behind bars.    Joining Nancy Grace Today: Kelly Hyman- Trial & Civil Attorney (Miami, FL), TV Legal Analyst, Podcast Host: "Once Upon a Crime In Hollywood", Twitter: @kellyhyman1, TikTok: @kelly.hyman, Instagram: @Kelly_Hyman1  Caryn L. Stark- Psychologist, renowned TV and Radio trauma expert and consultant, www.carynstark.com, Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice Kevin Laws - Fmr. Special Agent, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal, State and Military court certified expert pertaining to the sexual exploitation of children, Author: "Hunter of the Damned: A Walk through Hell", https://www.kandsteaching.com/order-hunter-of-the-dammed, https://www.facebook.com/Kevinsmemoir  Anna Sonoda - Child sex abuse grooming expert- Author, Duck Duck Groom  Annie Mapp - Reporter, WFLA Tampa   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A 23-year-old Florida woman poses as a schoolgirl. Why? To molest a teen boy student. The Florida glamazon shows up for a mugshot with smoky eyeliner and frosted lip gloss and this is the woman who pretends to be a homeschooled 14 year old girl in order to prey on middle schoolers engaging in sex acts with little boys even sending explicit videos. Alyssa Zinger shackled in court now hit with new

charges after four more boy victims as young as 12 years old come forward. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. You don't seem to understand that the problem is not who recorded the video. The problem is you are in multiple videos with young boys 13 and 14 years old. You are an adult. You are manipulating, taking advantage of these young boys. Did you hear Judge Laurel Ward? She actually has to tell Alyssa Ann Zenger, you're the adult. They're little boys. This is wrong. What? She didn't know that? You know what? I think she knows a lot more than she's letting on. This woman reportedly, allegedly posed as a 14-year-old homeschooled girl, I guess to explain away the fact that she wasn't registered anywhere at any elementary, middle, or high school. Now, another thing about what the judge said, Judge Laura Ward there in

Florida says, apparently the defendant's lawyer had said, we don't have any proof of who took the explicit sex videos that were sent to the little boys. And the judge is like, it doesn't matter who recorded the video because you're starring in it. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. But first of all, where did this go down? Listen. South Tampa's Hyde Park neighborhood is ranked by niche in the top 10 places to live in the U.S. It boasts great restaurants and schools, with many young

professionals making up its population of just over 2,000. Wilson Middle School, home of the Bulldogs, is nestled in the heart of Hyde Park, serving about 600 students in grades 6 through 8. It has earned national recognition as a Blue Ribbon of excellent school. Okay, you know, with a background like that, I guarantee you that families are flocking to the area to buy homes and condos just to get to that school. Little do they know, a predator is lurking, and not the typical predator we all imagine. This is a 23-year-old Florida woman. There she is, pre year old Florida woman. There she is praying on little boys, quote, dating them, even sending explicit sex videos with me and all star panel to make sense of what we are learning at this hour. But first, to investigative reporter from WFLA in Tampa, Annie Mapp.

Annie, thank you for being with us. Annie, what's happening? Who is this woman? Nancy, I mean, shocking is the word here for everyone who saw this story here in Tampa, Florida. I mean, you see Alyssa, she's a real pretty girl. You know, why does she have the need to do this, to talk to these 12, 13, 14-year-old boys who she had five victims. And we know, we recently found out she had been doing this for several months, dating back to January of last year, up until she got caught in October. Annie, did you say she's a real pretty girl? You mean like Deb LaFave and Mary-K Kate Letourneau. They were real pretty too, but they're

sex molesters. You know, when you look at some grungy old dude, all grizzled and gross, and you go, yeah, he's a child molester. In my mind, she looks just like him. Because I've got two children, Annie, and it will be a cold day and H-E-double-L hell will have to freeze over before I let somebody like her near either one of my children. I don't care what she looks like or how frosty her lip gloss is or how smoky her eyeliner is. I don't care what she looks like. As far as I'm concerned, she is a predator. Now, of course, I know high profile lawyer Kelly Hyman joining us out of the Florida jurisdiction is going to tell me she's innocent until proven guilty. I know that it goes without saying. And again, everybody on Twitter, you can quit telling me that because I know everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I know that. I'm just assessing the facts as we're getting them. And Annie Mapp, isn't it true that four more young victims as young as 12 years old

have come forward? I mean, here's the scales. His, her are saying, no, I didn't do it. What are they saying? And here's them, all of them giving the same story. And they're separated in time and space. Nancy, once her photo was plastered, you know, by the news, by Tampa police, more people started saying, hey, she came to my house, too. She told my parents she was 14. She was telling adults that she was 14 years old and going to the homes of these young boys and these families, you know, were tricked just as tricked as those minors were. You know what I think I need right now? If I were a drinker, I would want to drink. But since I'm not, I need a shrink, a drink and a shrink. There we go. I think I've got a new title.

Karen Stark is joining me. Renowned psychologist, TV radio trauma expert. You can find her at KarenStark.com. That's Karen with a C in case you're looking at her. I'm jovial because nobody is dead. But make no mistake about it, Karen Stark, these boys, a lot of people think this is a boy's dream. It's not because they will be forever affected by what happened to them. And the rest of their lives, every relationship they have with a woman or a girl, a teen girl, a preteen girl is going to be overshadowed with this event in their life. They are no different than little girls that are molested. But you heard Annie Mapp, investigative reporter at WFLA, who's been on this case from the

very beginning, talking about the way this 23-year-old, almost 24-year-old woman behaves. She even faked out the parents. And enjoyed every moment of manipulating them, Nancy. And she is completely a sexual predator. But let's look at the culture. It happens a lot that they wind up feeling. People believe that, well, a little boy, he's getting initiated, how wonderful an older woman is doing this. And it's the furthest thing from the truth because this is traumatic. Having this kind of experience, just like you said, the very first thing is going to make them not feel good about themselves, taken advantage of, insecure, not good in relationships. She is a narcissist and needed to feel like she can control these kids. Somebody her own age, that wouldn't have worked for her because she was able to then have numerous relationships, take advantage and be the

sexual predator that we're talking about. Now, here's a kicker, and I want to hear what Kelly Hyman has to say about this. Kelly Hyman is high profile trial lawyer, TV legal analyst, host of the podcast Once Upon a Crime in Hollywood. Kelly Hyman, thank you for being with us. Now, I'm sure since the number of little boy victims as young as 12 years old, I mean, just hold that thought for a moment. Kelly, I don't know if you have children or not, but I remember when my twins now 16 were 12, there is no way I wanted them to be initiated, as Karen Stark just said, that's scary, into a full on sex act with an adult. I don't know how that's anybody's dream for a little boy.

But that said, I'm sure her lawyer with the mounting number of little boy victims coming forward with their parents, they're going to have a hard time saying, I didn't do it. That wasn't me. So they're going to have to go with mental defect. But I want you to hear this. Take a listen. Tampa PD responds to reports of shoplifting at Nordstrom Department Store, speaking with teen suspects who say they're dating. Alyssa Zinger tells cops her birthday is January 15th, 2009, putting her age at 14 years old. When officers try to verify her identity,

they can only find a 22-year-old Alyssa Zinger, born in 2001. When confronted with that inconsistency, Zinger says she has a half-sister with the same name. The story declines to press charges, and both suspects are free to go. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace I'm very confused right now because I don't know if this name is going to ring a bell to you, but she's being called the glam yoga teacher. Caitlin Armstrong, when she was first brought in for questioning on the murder of a world-class 20-something-year-old dirt biker, there was a discrepancy in her DOB for an outstanding warrant, theft of services, and they let her go same thing here the cops say oh you have a half sister

with the very same name and they decide to let her go on a dob date of birth discrepancy your half sister has your same exact name okay and they let her go you think anything to do with her being so pretty they went oh yeah you're so pretty you'd never do anything wrong by and this is from a shoplifting scene by the way but my question to you is she does not have a mental defect she cannot claim insanity under the law because think about it Kelly she is saying with a straight face to cops as she's about to be arrested. She goes, no, that's my half sister. I mean, she can quickly come up with a believable lie that the cops fall for.

She's crazy like a fox. I think Wiley is a better description, Kelly. Well, her attorney's going to argue that basically that the state has a burden that they have to prove the elements of the crime. But Nancy, as you pointed out, it is a crime. This is a crime to have sexual relationships with a minor. Now, her attorney might argue that there is some kind of mental health issues potentially as well. But ultimately, that will be up to the jury of the and make a determination on that if that's the case or not. Guys, this all really comes to light at a shoplifting incident at an upscale department store, Nordstrom's. Listen. After the shoplifting incident, Tampa PD

combs through government, school, and employment records to determine Alyssa Zinger, 14, and the 22-year-old half-sister with the same name are the same person. A teen boy then reports he has had a sexual relationship with Zinger for over five months. The victim says he met Zinger on Snapchat, where she introduced herself as a homeschooled 14-year-old. The boy says they had sex multiple times, and she sent him explicit photos and videos. He says he ended the relationship when he learned her true age. To Kevin Laws joining us, former special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, federal, state, military, court-certified expert pertaining to the exploitation of children and author of hunter of the damned a walk through hell kevin law thank you for being with us why is

it that pretty women seemingly get off the hook they're not taken into custody. I was just describing Caitlin Armstrong, who was eventually convicted for the murder of a beautiful young dirt bike racer, world class, by the way, Mo Wilson. She just walked free. Deb LaFave. Lenient treatment. It happens over and over again. Do you see this woman? She walked away from a shoplifting incident, even though cops should have known she's lying. Who has a half sister with the very same name? That is a bit of a problem with the half sister thing.

But, you know, you think about it. You know, she's you know, I worked I worked online undercover for 11 years. And you have to know you have to know your your persona, who you're going to be. So I'm sure that she's worked out everything in advance. What happens if I get caught? What am I going to say? What am I going to say to the cops? You know, make it believable. And if you sound if you sound believable, somebody is going to believe you. I mean, she's she's she's an attractive young lady.

You know, she doesn't look like she's homeless. She's not disheveled or anything like that. So cops are going to put, you know, sadly, cops are going to put a little bit more truth into what she's or she's going to make herself sound more believable, you know, not being like, oh, look, she's homeless and, you know, her hair is a mess and stuff like this. But, you know, sadly, that's what happens. He indicated that a sexually explicit video of himself and another minor was being circulated through Snapchat. Did he know who was doing it?

Yes. Who was that? He identified the person as Miss Alyssa Zinger. Wow. You were hearing Detective Amanda Baranowski testifying and she's stating that one of the little boys was upset and embarrassed. A sexually explicit video of himself and the 14 year old homeschool girl was circulated through Snapchat and according to the detective Alyssa Zinger was the one giving everyone transmitting it circulating it now why in the world would she do that that's another question for the shrink. But right now, I'm going to a special guest joining us, child sex abuse grooming expert, author of Duck, Duck, Groom, Anna Sinoda.

Anna, thank you for being with us. Okay, this is your Super Bowl, Anna. Go. Thank you, Nancy. Let's begin by just covering the fact that these aren't relationships. For anybody to suggest that these are relationships, that's completely incorrect. First and foremost, this is a situation of online grooming. Now, many parents may not know, but when you look at the social media rules, they encourage

kids not to join social media until they're 13. Why is that? That is not about how safe social media until they're 13. Why is that? That is not about how safe social media is for kids. That only refers to what's called COPPA, which is the Child's Online Privacy Protection Act, which means that online social media companies can start tracking kids as early as 13 when they're on social media. And 60% of kids age 13 to 17 are on Snapchat. So if I'm a potential predator, Nancy, where am I going to go?

I'm going to get on my smartphone and I'm going to hunt in essentially a barrel for available kids who have less monitoring and more time online. Guys, we also know that according to the victims, the 23-year-old Florida woman creates a fake persona of a 14-year-old schoolgirl homeschooled that she had first had sex intercourse with the first victims multiple times and sent a pornographic video to several children over Snapchat. That in itself is a crime to send pornographic material, much less to a child, but over the internet waves to any map. Investigative reporter WFLA, let's just take it from the beginning with the accusations. What do we know? How did it all start? Yeah, so it actually started in January

of last year with a victim that she had met on TikTok. And then that relationship moved over to Snapchat. And she met with that victim, had sexual contact with that victim on their first meetup. Wait, let's not put perfume on the pig. Sex. What did you call it? Sex contact. You mean she had sexual acts? Correct. Correct. What sex act? Vagina to penis contact.

Okay. That's rape. Okay. Go ahead. And if it's a child, it's statutory rape. Because even if a child says, yes, I want to do this, a child can't enter a contract to buy a car or a home. They can't buy alcohol or cigarettes.

They can't enter into work contracts. There's a reason for that. They are protected under the law, nor can they consent to sex. Hence the phrase statutory rape. It doesn't matter if they say, yes, I'd love to do this on my parents' sofa while they're in the next room. It doesn't matter because they don't have the mental wherewithal to consent to anything other than going to bed on time. Okay, so you say this starts in January. Just pick it up from there again.

This starts in January with the first victim. Then we have victim two who is actually, you know, victim one that exposed all of this. But this victim, she actually enters into this relationship with who she tells that she's 14. She meets his parents. They're going out. She's going to his home. And that relationship lasts from May up until about October when he decides, you know, he wants to cut things off with her. That makes Alyssa Zenger upset. So she shares this video of that victim with another

minor to several people on Snapchat. Once that victim finds out that his video is being shared, he goes to police. And that's what prompts Detective Baranowski to start looking into Zinger, to start looking at school records. They couldn't find her. The only person they could find had graduated several years ago. And then that's when they learn, oh, this is the same person who was involved in this incident at Nordstrom, you know, back in the summer. So it's just a trail of events that are exposed just from this teen, well, this minor, going to report that his video with another minor is being shared. He indicated that a sexually explicit video of himself and another minor was being circulated through Snapchat. Did he know who was doing it? Yes. Who was that?

He identified the person as Ms. Alyssa Zinger. Straight out to Annie Mapp, investigative reporter, WFLA in Tampa. Annie, you clarified something for me. This explicit video is not of the Florida Glamazon, the 23-year-old bakery worker allegedly molesting little boys. It's a victim, too two who is a little boy, somewhere between 12 and 14 years old. And it's the little boy with another minor, we believe a minor little girl. Correct.

And somehow Zinger gets a hold of it and then sends it to a lot of people. Is that how that worked? Correct. So from what was said in court, Zinger asked to go over to this victim's home. This is after they're already broken up. She claims she needs to charge her phone. While she's doing that and he's in the other room, she goes through his phone, accesses this video and records it from her phone and then

distributes it on Snapchat to several of that minor's friends, to several people that she has on Snapchat. And that's what prompts that victim to go to police. Wow. So that means to me, straight back out to Kelly Hyman joining us, high profile lawyer in this jurisdiction of Florida. Kelly, that means there's another victim. And I don't think that there's been a charge as it relates to the unidentified minor who I believe to be a little girl that victim two was having some kind of relation with on video. And Zinger, the alleged molester in this case, a sex predator, downloads it and sends it to a lot of people.

That's another victim. What do you think this little girl feels like? Everybody in middle school sees her in a compromising position. Oh, yeah, that needs to be another charge, Kelly. Right. It appears that this is an ongoing investigation, Nancy, and there could potentially be some more charges as we go forward and potentially some more victims as well. But this is this is a horrible story. Here's your potentially young girl in middle school. And and those are difficult times, to say the least, with dealing with all kinds of stuff. But then having the fact of having dealing with this and potentially people seeing the video through your school

and embarrassment and dealing with that as well. It's horrible and it's a very, very sad story. You know, with me is renowned psychologist, TV and radio trauma expert, Karen Stark, joining us out of Manhattan. Karen, just recently, Karen, at the Twins High School, a little boy that graduated last year, great student, great grades, athlete, the works, gets depressed and upset at his first year at college. Nobody really knows what set it off. And he committed suicide. And the whole school is just devastated, devastated. The boy that committed suicide has a sibling in the twins grade and it's just opened up this Pandora's box of horrible feelings and fears and emotions and sadness and depression. My point is, Karen, you never know what may set someone off.

Like if one of these little victims or this little girl who we think to be a little girl in that video, the embarrassment, the kidding at school when everybody figures out, oh, you're the one sleeping with the bakery worker. You never know what could tip a child over the edge to do something drastic. And, you know, Karen Stark, I have dealt, as you and I have discussed many times on and off camera, with so many child molestation and rape victims. And that feeling of powerlessness sticks with them the rest of their lives. And they relive the moment that they are molested or raped. Or this little girl we think is a girl is going to relive the rest of her life thinking about, oh, my stars, everybody in middle school is going to remember this. I mean, I think about all the dumb things I did in high school and college. I think,

oh, I'm so embarrassed, much less something like this, Karen Stark. In addition, Nancy, think about it. Children really believe in situations like this, that they are responsible. They have no, they're not developmentally able to understand that they've been preyed upon. So think about this little girl. And here is this horrible child molester, right, who's initiating this boy into sex. And then after teaching him to do something like record a video of him with someone else, she uses that against him and the little girl. It's vicious. And she will and he will blame themselves because they do not understand that they've had a choice. I've worked with so many people like this, trying to convince them

that when you are that age, you're not able to consent. You can't make that kind of decision. And this was ongoing. It wasn't a couple of times. With one victim alone, there was approximately, which means more, 30 sex attacks. And she told him she had had sex with other boys between ages 13 and 15 in the past. A grown woman preying on innocent children as young as 12 years old. Now, here's a mind bender, everybody. Think about the scenario. Go ahead. Jump in. Yeah, I wanted to add something. You know, if you learn more about her and here she is, I think she's 23 now, her parents were also protecting her.

They were actually switching phones, making sure that with the police, that they were in trouble with the police. So she's been shielded while she's been able to do all of this. I just wanted to point that out. You know, another issue, which I was saying is a real mind-bender. So the little 12 year old breaks up with her. How does it feel to be an adult woman and if you're sleeping with a little boy and the little 12 year old breaks up with you so So angry about this, she disseminates personal videos the little boy has on his phone. I mean, Anna Sonoda, child sex abuse grooming expert, author of Duck Duck Groom, help me out. Nancy, we have so many, so much ground to cover. Let's begin by something

I like to call the seesaw principle. So for your listening audience to remember, predators are going to do one of two things. They're either going to elevate the victim to be a peer. We're going to talk about things like work problems, relationship problems, financial issues with a child, or we're going to relate to a child on a child's level. Clearly in this case, this female predator chose to relate to kids on kids' levels. Nancy, I'm not gonna ask you when you made your last TikTok video,

but most adults are not trying to connect with kids by making Snapchat Reels or TikTok reels. So the thing we need to remember is predators may be everywhere, but they are not everyone, and their behavior stands out, especially when we know what to look for. Alyssa Zinger is charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery and five counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. She post-bond on all seven charges and moves in with her parents as the case proceeds. Soon after, four more victims under the age of 15 come forward, claiming Zinger sent them videos of other minors engaged in sexual intercourse. One victim says Zinger spoke about having sex with other teens.

Zinger is arrested for a second time and charged with two additional counts, each of lewd and lascivious battery and molestation, two counts of child pornography and cyber sexual harassment. Zinger is denied bond and access to electronics while behind bars. But it's my understanding to Annie Matt, WFLA in Tampa, is she out on bond now? She's not out on bond. She was out on bond last year when this was all first discovered. But when more victims came forward and she got arrested again, she was denied bond in a pretrial detention hearing and will have to stay in jail until court.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Annie Mapp joining us, a reporter at WFLA in Tampa. Annie, Karen Stark is correct that now Zinger's parents are under suspicion of aiding and abetting or at least trying to get rid of evidence. Explain. So much information came out during the pretrial detention hearing last month. Found out that when police went to the Zinger home where she had been living with her parents, they tried to retrieve her phone and her dad actually allegedly gave police her mom's old phone. So they take the phone, then they find that out. So they go back

and ask, hey, where is her real phone? And at that point, she says that she's lost it. So that was one reason, you know, Judge Laura Ward said she didn't trust letting Alyssa out on bond and being under control of her parents. Also, prosecutors said that there is evidence that will come up during the trial that her parents were actually texting with the parents of one of the victims when they were arrested, well, not arrested, detained for that Nordstrom situation. So I think a lot more will come out on, you know, what her parents did and if they knew that this was going on. So the parents are not charged formally, but the prosecutor provided evidence that they tried to protect their daughter and intentionally provided cops with the wrong cell phone rather than the one believed to contain the damning images and text messages. Yes. And Detective Baranowski also testified to that in court.

And we're wondering just how far the parents' involvement is going to turn out to be. But that said, I want to go back to Kevin Laws, former special agent with Homeland Security, author of Hunter of the Damned, Walk Through Hell. Kevin, again, thank you for being with us. Kevin, it's a family effort. How many times have you seen where parents or others, other relatives, try to cover for their child? Of course, this isn't a child. This one is now almost 24 years old. I've got to say this is the first time that I've heard the parents covering for it. I've had a substantial number of arrests where there's somebody else helping the perpetrator,

you know, a friend, a neighbor, somebody like that. But this is the first I've heard of the actual parents doing it. That's a bit of a shocker. We see now the defense lining up. Take a listen. Alyssa Zinger's defense attorney claims Zinger has a history of emotional and developmental challenges and suffered at the hands of bullies growing up, resulting in severe self-esteem issues. It's clear from just the content of the text messages, this is not a 22-year-old adult having communication with somebody who she saw as her equal.

The defense argues Zinger's developmental delays are proved by an individualized education plan created by Zingers High School. Curious that a developmental delay is somehow going to be equated with insanity. Just because you have an individualized education plan created by Zingers High School. She's not in high school anymore. She's holding down a job and she has the wherewithal to target little children. I'm just very curious, Annie Mapp, how she found the children. Did she find them online? Yes, she found them on TikTok, also on Snapchat, which is the platform that it appears that she would take people from,

you know, that one victim, the first one that she met on TikTok, and then later that conversation continued through Snapchat. And if you note, just through the court records, these are all kids that knew each other. You know, one victim she met at the other victim's home. So these are all people that were well aware of each other and, you know, found out that they were all talking to the same person. Take a listen to this. This defendant lived a full life masquerading as a 14 year old girlfriend to a true a true 14-year-old. This is not a 22-year-old child. This is an adult. This is a 22-year-old adult. Masquerading as a 14-year-old child. Well, it wouldn't be the first time an adult has posed

as a child in order to molest another child. Take a listen to this. James Wilson is a 17-year-old boy who meets a 15-year-old West Virginia girl online. They have a real connection. They meet in person Take a listen to James. Police get involved when a friend of the 15-year-old confronts James, telling him she doesn't believe he is what he pretends to be, and James threatens to kill her. She contacts the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and an investigation begins. Turns out James Wilson, 17-year-old boy, is really 24-year-old female Carissa Hadds. Hadds is arrested and charged with traveling across state lines for the purpose of coercing or enticing a minor. Pretending to be a child in order to molest a child. It is no longer uncommon. Listen. DeAndre Banks is a 25-year-old man, but on Facebook, he pretends to be a teen girl. Posing as the girl, Banks is able to get attention from a 17-year-old man, but on Facebook, he pretends to be a teen girl. Posing as the girl, Banks is able to get attention from a 17-year-old boy.

As the teen girl, Banks lures the boy to a house in St. Petersburg, Florida. When the boy shows up, Banks threatens him with a weapon, then assaults the teen. A 15-year-old boy is Banks' next victim. This time, he lures the victim to a vacant house. But the boy is too strong and fast, and he escapes unharmed and goes to police. Oh, we're not done yet. Listen. Brianna Stewart, 16, enrolls at Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Washington, claiming she ran away from her Satanist father who abused her and murdered her mother. While Stewart joins the tennis team, gets a D in drama, and attends prom with her boyfriend, students say they thought she was a teacher and she looks older than other girls. After Stewart graduates, she seeks out a

social security card, providing her fingerprints to obtain the document. The prints match several other homeless teens, Stephanie Danielle Lewis and Emily Kara Williams. A third identity is connected to the fingerprints, a 31-year-old Treva Throneberry. Carl and Patsy Throneberry identify a photo of Stewart as their daughter. Throneberry is arrested on fraud and perjury charges, for which she serves just over two years in prison. Zach Hess transfers from Lincoln, Nebraska's Southeast High School to Northwest High School. Hess appears to be an average 17-year-old standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds. But a teacher finds Hess extremely familiar.

Flipping through old yearbooks, Hess looks exactly like former student Zachary Scheich, who graduated from Lincoln Public Schools eight years ago. While the 26-year-old posed as a student, Scheich sent explicit texts to multiple students and paid a 13-year-old girl to send him nude photos. Prosecutors believe Scheich sexually assaulted six students over the school year. Scheik pleads not guilty to two counts of sexual assault and sex trafficking of a minor and is still awaiting trial. How is that alleged sex molester any different from the glamazon bakery worker, Alyssa Ann Zinger? One's a man, one's a woman. The victims, all school-aged, as young as 12 years old. Two, Anna Sunoda. Many people see a differentiation between a girl victim and a boy

victim. I do not. Nancy, we have a very difficult time, especially in this country, recognizing females as predators. So first and foremost, the benefit of this case, the potential silver lining is for all families to be well aware of the fact that predators online can be male and they can also be female. And when we hand our children devices for whatever reason, we need to ensure that those devices are as protected as possible, keeping lines of communication open and always following up with checking children's phones, checking their social media platforms for any possible signs of predation and grooming. Remember, predators run on gas, grooming, access, and space. And in this case, these potential victims, and there will be more that come out probably, they were accessible via online platforms. So families need to be well aware and attuned to cases like this so that they

can educate themselves and their young children. Yeah often we see female teachers, female caregivers as being harmless. And I think somewhere deep in our minds, we equate them with our own mothers or sisters. Nothing could be further from the truth. We wait as justice unfolds with Alyssa Ann Zinger. But now we stop to remember American hero Deputy Sheriff Jermias Young. Just 21, Deputy Sheriff Young died in the line of duty. Jermias Young was an Army Reserve vet, and he leaves behind his parents, three brothers, and two sisters, all grieving. American hero, Deputy Sheriff Jermias Young. I want to thank all of our guests for being with us tonight, but especially to you for being with us tonight

and every night. Nancy Grace signing off. Good night, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.