Police credit teens for arrest of man allegedly trying to entice 15-year-old

Police arrested a 52-year-old man at the Kingston Collection shopping mall Saturday night after he allegedly tried to coerce a 15-year-old girl into performing sex acts.

A 911 call by a 13-year-old, who acted quickly and provided dispatch with a description of the suspect, led to the arrest, Kingston police said in a Facebook post.

Martin Joe Rosa of Worcester was taken to to county jail and was scheduled to be arraigned Monday, NBC10 Boston reported.

Police conducted interviews with multiple witnesses as part of the investigation, including with the alleged victim and other teenagers that were hanging out with her when Rosa allegedly made these advances.

“[He] made statements along the lines of, ‘What do I have to do to get in your pants tonight?’ Things like that,” Kingston police Sgt. Michael Skowyra told NBC10, adding that the teenagers said they also heard Rosa offer drugs and alcohol.

“When you’re talking to older men who you don’t know, that’s where the question comes into play as to what their motivations are. These kids did the right thing,” Skowyra said.

“The act was not completed, thanks to the appropriate response from the victim and a group of juveniles,” Kingston police reported on Facebook. “As a result, the suspect was arrested and a complaint application is being submitted requesting the party face a felony charge of Enticing A Child Under 16.

“Great work by dispatch, patrol, mall security and especially the juveniles who called and provided detailed witness statements,” Kingston police added.

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com