A 23-year-old Arizona woman is accused of posing as a 15-year-old girl and engaging in sexual conduct with minors, which resulted in giving one minor an STD.
Anna Areola-Hernandez was arrested and charged for three counts each of suspicion of sexual conduct with a minor, child molestation, unlawful age misrepresentation, and adult posing as a minor for a sexual conduct act.
Sgt. Jay O’Neill, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, said detectives had been alerted to an inappropriate and potentially sexual relationship between a 23-year-old woman and an underage boy. The underage boy later turned out to be a 13 year old. Areola-Hernandez met the minor at a Phoenix mall and engaged in sex several times.
Detectives learned through investigation that Areola-Hernandez, who used the screen names “Tiny Hernandez” or “Ana Hernandez,” communicated with minors through texts and social media sites including Facebook, Kik, Snapchat, and Tango. Her profile pics were styled to make herself look younger.
Areola-Hernandez told the boy’s mother that she was pregnant with the minor’s baby during a phone conversation between the two. The child’s mother also commented that Areola-Hernandez gave him a sexually transmitted disease. Her pregnancy has not been confirmed.
When questioned, Areola-Hernandez admitted to having a six-month relationship with the young boy and an unidentified minor. Investigators believe that there may be others that have been in contact with her. They noted she appeared to have remorse when speaking to police about the allegations. She admitted to preferring younger boys rather than men her own age, but did not explain why.
“She looks very young, so it would be very easy for her to pass as a teenager,” Tracey Breeden of the Glendale Police Department said.
Areola-Hernandez is being held without bail because she is seen as a flight risk. Police said she already had arrangements to travel to Mexico where her mother lives.
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