Man Posed As Girl, Lured Boys For Sex: Cops

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg man faces criminal charges after police say he posed as a teenage girl on Facebook to entice teen boys to meet up with him. One of the alleged encounters ended with a 17-year-old boy being sexually battered, police said.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, D’Andre Banks was charged on Tuesday, July 18 with two counts of kidnapping and one count of sexual battery with a deadly weapon.

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Banks is accused of posing as a teenage girl to lure a 17-year-old boy to a home near Martin Luther King Street and Paris Avenue South on June 29. Police say Banks was armed with a handgun, which he used to threaten the boy “before sexually assaulting him.”

Banks has also been charged in a similar incident that occurred on July 17. In that case, police say Banks posed as a teenage girl on Facebook and talked a 15-year-old boy into meeting him. The encounter took place at a vacant house in the 1800 block of 20th Street South, an email from police said. The victim in the second incident was able to escape unharmed, police noted.

Banks was brought into custody on Tuesday, July 18. Police say there may be more victims. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the police department at 727-893-7780. Tips may also be submitted to TIP411. All tipsters need to do is text “SPPD” and their tips to that number.

Banks was being held in the Pinellas County Jail Tuesday without bond.

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Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Jail