Canon City man arrested after alleged months-long sexual relationship with teen that started on Snapchat
CANON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) -- 23-year-old Lane Rinke of Canon City is facing sex assault charges in connection to an alleged months-long relationship with a teen.
Arrest records show the victim told Rinke they were 14 years old, but the two continued to date.
Though the Florence Police Department (FPD) led the investigation, Canon City Police brought in Rinke on his arrest warrant on September 11.
The court documents show a local school district reached out to FPD in late January, reporting a student was having an inappropriate relationship with an older man.
According to the records, Florence police officers spoke with the victim's mom, who said she found explicit images on her child's phone which had been sent to a man over Snapchat.
In a later meeting with police outlined in the documents, the victim's mom said she found drug paraphernalia, lingerie, and a letter hidden in her child's room.
The letter she found was signed by "Lane," and using that information as a launching point, FPD identified Lane Rinke as a person of interest.
As police worked to confirm Rinke's involvement, arrest records show the victim met with a child's advocate to discuss the situation. In that meeting, the victim told the children's advocate that they met Rinke on Snapchat. The victim said the two exchanged compliments, before later exchanging explicit photos and meeting up at a park in Florence around Christmas 2022.
The victim said they met up with Rinke at a house on Ussie Avenue at least two times for sex, and the documents show Rinke later confirmed that while talking with FPD.
Over the course of their relationship, court records show the victim said Rinke drove them to school and on one occasion, also drove their two friends to school.
Rinke is charged with sexual assault on a child and sexual exploitation of children.
The Fremont County Inmate Locator shows Rinke bonded out of jail, but he is set to appear in court tomorrow morning at 8:30 for a hearing on his charges.
