ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — An Ohio man was arrested on Tuesday after he was caught performing sexual activities with a teenager in North Carolina.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home after receiving reports of a breaking and entering incident, according to WSOC-TV. The owner of the home told deputies that they found 49-year-old Stacy Lee Austin inside with their 15-year-old child.
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An investigation revealed Austin drove to the victim’s home from Belmont, Ohio. He had been communicating with the teen on social media, WSOC-TV reported. Deputies said that in those conversations he tried to to arrange to pick up the juvenile, and while he was at the victim’s home, he performed sexual activities with them.
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Deputies located Austin’s underwear in the trashcan of a bathroom in the home, along with some of the juvenile’s clothing, the station reported.
When he was questioned about the incident, Austin admitted the sexual acts to deputies and said he was concerned about losing his job as owner of a Chick-fil-A in Ohio.
Austin has been charged with a statutory sex offense with a child, according to WSOC-TV.
He is being held in the Rowan County Detention Center under no bond due to the Pretrial Integrity Act.
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