Canandaigua, N.Y. - It all started with a wrong number.
An 11-year-old Canandaigua girl thought she was texting a friend but instead she misdialed.
And police say that mistake put her into contact with 36-year-old parolee Kevin Camp, who is now charged with her rape.
“Unfortunately she thought she trusted this person,” says Sgt. Scott Kadien of the Canandaigua Police Department.
Police say she quickly knew she had come into contact with an adult male and not her friend. “This person took advantage of the situation and cultivated a relationship,” says Sgt. Kadien.
“First came conversation then (he) sent some sexually explicit pictures,” he adds.
Police say Camp eventually lured the girl to a Canandaigua car wash located within walking distance from her home. It’s alleged what began as a chance encounter over the phone in January ended with rape in March.
The law treats the rape of a victim under age 13 as especially egregious. Camp faces two charges of predatory sexual assault. “The predatory sexual assault is an A-2 felony. There’s a potential of a life sentence for that,” says Assistant District Attorney James Ritts.
Police claim Camp coerced other phone numbers out of the victim and sent sexually explicit photos to a second 11-year-old girl. Authorities say he never hid the fact that he was an adult, but because of her young age the victim lacked the judgment to see the potential danger.
“The message is you have to monitor who your kids are speaking with, the unfortunate reality is you don’t know who’s on the other side of the phone,” says Sgt. Kadien. He suggests parents regularly review their children’s text messages and review phone bills to see where those calls are going.
Camp, who is on parole for a burglary conviction, has been indicted on six charges. He’s being held in the Ontario County Jail on $100,000 cash bail.
