Man Arrested On Charges Of Child Sex Assault In Cedar Park

CEDAR PARK, TX — A man linked to a child sexual assault case was arrested in Cedar Park on Wednesday.

Jorge F Dela Cruz Rodriguez, 29, was arrested and charged with a second-degree felony for online solicitation of a minor, with intent to meet, and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony. He is booked in Travis County Jail with a $300,000 bond, Cedar Park police said Wednesday.

On May 6, police said the mother of the victim reported her daughter had been sexually assaulted by an unknown man.

Detectives learned the girl and Rodriguez had first started chatting on Omegle, an online chatroom website, and then continued to communicate using Snapchat around October 2020.

Authorities said they discovered both the girl and Rodriguez were sending explicit sexual messages such as nude photographs, videos and discussions of sexual acts the two had engaged in.

With consent from the family, Cedar Park police initiated an undercover sting using the victim's Snapchat account.

Two days after the sting began, Rodriguez continued to message the victim and stated he would come to her home, police said.

On May 19, Rodriguez arrived to the girl's home and detectives were able to take him into custody without incident, officials said.

Cedar Park police warn parents of a teen or pre-teen to be vigilant about what their children do online.

"Kids and youth are not able to comprehend potential grooming techniques," officials said.

Cedar Park PD's tips on how to communicate with your kids about social media safety

Authorities said you should have conversations with your children about how to avoid strangers, how to prevent revealing too much about themselves, and general internet safety.

Police say parents should teach their children about some of these social media safety tips to help them learn about what could be red flags and how to come to them for guidance when questionable content or situations arise.

1) Educate yourself about social media. Start by finding out what kind of apps and sites your child is interested in.Read app reviews, age limits, and fine print.

2) Get a head start. If you don’t have an account on the social media site your child wants to use, get one. Teach yourself the ins and outs of the site. Make sure you know exactly what they can and cannot do, and decide what they should and shouldn’t do.

3) Teach your kid about posting on sites. Deleting a post does not mean it’s permanently gone. All their online posts, comments, likes, and shares are a part of their digital footprint. Posting inappropriate content could impact their online reputation. It may not seem like a big deal now, but it could potentially hurt them when they get older and enter college or the job market.

4) Let your kids know the importance of privacy. Many social media sites request names, dates of birth, school names, and hometown. Teach your children how much personal information is too much information online.

Here are a few tips for monitoring your child’s social media accounts.

1) Most apps have an age requirement. Enforce it.

2) Check the privacy setting on apps regularly. Companies often update their privacy policies. Make sure you read the fine print.

3) Consider using a trusted security suite with parental controls on your child’s device. Enable all safety features that prevent children from accidentally being exposed to inappropriate content online.

4) Make sure you change the settings on their devices to ask your permission before installing an app.

5) Learn their dialect. Kids have a language of their own when it comes to communicating online. Make sure you know what they’re talking about.