Deputy, 26, is charged with third-degree rape of girl, 14, whom he met on Tinder 'where she posed as a 19-year-old woman'
A 26-year-old Washington state deputy has been charged with third-degree rape of a teenager he met on Tinder where she reportedly claimed she was 19 years old.
Snohomish County sheriff's deputy, Anthony Zayas was placed on administrative leave in August, according to The Herald.
Charging papers say Zayas met the girl on Tinder, where she used a fake name and claimed to be 19.
She was 14 and told police he gave her alcohol, court filings say. The charges say he told investigators he took her word for it — after picking her up late at night at a park in Mount Vernon in June — that she was an adult.
Washington state deputy, Anthony Zayas, 26, has been charged with third-degree rape of a teenager he met on Tinder (file image) where she reportedly claimed she was 19 years old
Around the same time, the girl's mother reported to police in Idaho that her daughter had run away.
The girl was later found in Spokane. One of the mother's friends agreed to take her to the Mount Vernon area for awhile to stay.
About two weeks later, the girl told her mom's friend she had been sneaking out, according to the charges.
The friend went through the teen's phone and found Snapchat photos of a man later identified as Zayas.
The friend looked up Zayas on Facebook and saw evidence that he might be an officer. She reportedly contacted him and told him the girl's real age.
'Oh my God,' Zayas replied, according to court papers. 'What the ?'
According to the girl and Zayas, they had intercourse twice.
The girl told police they drank rum and Coke, watched TV before having sex, according to the Herald.
As part of the investigation, detectives spoke to another sheriff's deputy who had talked to Zayas on the day that he was supposed to meet up with his date.
That deputy told investigators that Zayas talked about meeting up with a 19-year-old woman after his shift ended at 2am.
The deputy also said that he was aware of Zayas using 'a variety of dating and hookup apps, including Tinder'.
Zayas told detectives that the girl also claimed to be a student at Eastern Washington University and that they eventually switched from Tinder to Snapchat to talk about meeting up.
When she asked to meet up, he told officers that he asked her why she didn't drive.
He claims she told him a story about how her license was suspended after she was involved in a DUI crash, according to the Herald.
She reportedly told him 'it would be a bad idea to drive to a cop’s house with a suspended driver’s license'.
Zayas said he believed her when she told him her age and birthday because she smoked cigarettes, talked about marijuana and had a tattoo.
Zayas was not in custody as of Tuesday. The rape charge was submitted Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court. Court records do not list an attorney for Zayas.
The deputy was hired by the county in July 2019. He remained on administrative leave as of this week while the sheriff's office conducts its own internal review.