TikTok star and American English teacher Luke Rockwell was arrested in Thailand after allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met online, according to reports.
Mr Rockwell, An American, was arrested in Bangkok on 2 September, NBC News reported. @English_with_teacherluke, as he is known online, appeared in court on Monday night and was released on bail, according to NBC.
His TikTok account, which boasts 1.3m followers, has been set to private.
According to The Bangkok Post, Mr Rockwell was accused of filming their sexual encounters.
NBC News spoke to the girl’s mother, who said that the pair met in March just after the girl had turned 16. She said they met at Mr Rockwell’s home because he didn’t want to be seen in public with the minor.
Although the teen and the social media influencer first had protected sex, Mr Rockwell showed medical documents to the teen that indicated he was healthy, so they had unprotected sex, the girl’s mom said.
Months later, on 25 August, the teen was suffering from bleeding and pain, her mom told NBC News; three days later she told her mother about her relationship with Mr Rockwell, and was taken to a hospital before filing a police report.
Five days later, the 16-year-old’s mom continued, the hospital confirmed she had STIs. On 31 August, the police issued a warrant for Mr Rockwell’s arrest.
“The police could not find him still on Friday so they asked if my daughter can lure him out for a meeting and we did that together with police presence while she texted him. And that’s how he was arrested on Saturday,” the girl’s mother told NBC.
“I was so shocked and it gave me a big punch in the chest. I was filled with sorrow and anger when I found out what he did [the recordings] to my daughter,” the teen’s mother added, saying she was disappointed that the influencer was granted bail.
The upset mother also told The DailyMail, “Teacher Luke told her to keep everything a secret until she turned 18. He told my daughter that he loved her and would let her come live with him when she’s no longer a minor.”
After the girl tested positive for gonorrhea and shared the results with the influencer, the mother told NBC, Mr Rockwell “promised that he would take responsibility for the costs.”
“I’m not complaining to the police because I want money or compensation. I don’t care about the money,” she continued. “I want every woman and child to know how evil Teacher Luke is. It’s embarrassing for me to tell people about what’s happening to my family but I hope it prevents Teacher Luke from ever taking advantage of any girl in the future.”
Lieutenant General Thitsit Sangsawan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division who called for the arrest operation, told NBC: “The American suspect was arrested for sex with a minor who is over 15 years old but not exceeding 18 years and recording the act of sex with a minor.”
“Additionally, he is accused of taking a minor away from their parents, guardian, or caretaker without reasonable cause, willingly and intentionally,” the lieutenant general continued. “The suspect surrendered willingly and was cooperative. He has confessed to the relationship with the minor.”
The case is still under investigation, police added.
According to Thailand Law Library, although the age of consent in the country is 15, anyone who “takes away” someone over the age of 15 but under 18 “for indecent act with consent of such person, shall be punished with imprisonment of not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht ($280), or both.”
