Suspect Accused of Using App to Arrange ‘Brutal’ Rape in Wisconsin

An Alabama man has been accused of attempting to hire an individual on an app to kidnap, then rape a woman he met on the internet, according to federal court papers.

Matthias Jacob Edward Mann, 22, was taken into custody recently in Hartselle regarding charges of attempted kidnapping and attempted coercion, the Associated Press (AP) reported Monday.

This happened after an individual he thought was willing to assault the woman turned out to be an officer working undercover online, a sworn statement from an FBI agent said.

The article continued:

Mann allegedly sent $75 through a payment app to cover expenses for the supposed abduction, the statement said, and was arrested Wednesday. Mann has addresses in Hartselle but also listed addresses in metro Atlanta, where the would-be victim believed he lived, documents show.

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A detective with the Owatonna (Minnesota) Police Department was monitoring a channel on the Kik app on Dec. 29 when he saw a message from a user trying to hire someone to abduct an acquaintance in Wisconsin, the statement said. The person later said he wanted the woman subjected to “the most brutal … rape imaginable,” the statement said.

The detective communicated with the individual, determined the request was authentic, and tried to find the user while searching for and contacting the potential victim in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, to ensure her safety, according to the statement.

The Kik profile was traced to Mann using computer records, and phone location records helped pinpoint the home where Mann was arrested, reportedly while he visited family.

“The FBI office in Huntsville was brought in when evidence indicated the suspect was in Alabama,” the AP report said.

Meanwhile, the woman, whose identity was not revealed in court documents, told authorities she met Mann online and talked with him over Twitter but the two had not met face to face.

A WHNT report detailed the case and featured a photo of the suspect:

Kik was described as a messenger app that allows young people to send group and private messages and “is continually making headlines as it is one of the most dangerous apps for teens,” according to NetNanny.com.

“Kik also makes it very difficult to identify both the sender and receiver of messages as there is no profile verification. Although this app is extremely popular for kids under the age of 18, it is also very popular with sexual predators,” the site read.

Mann was later jailed in Morgan County and appeared before a federal magistrate via video Thursday.

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