TikTok star and American English teacher Luke Rockwell was arrested in Thailand on Saturday after he allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old girl he met online. Rockwell, a Florida resident, was taken into police custody in Bangkok and charged with “sex with a minor” and “recording the acts.”
Rockwell, who has gained more than 1 million followers on his @English_with_teacherluke Tiktok account, was teaching English in Bangkok at the time of his arrest, Police Col. Vajirakorn Wongboon of the Royal Thai Police confirmed, per NBC News. He reportedly met the teenage victim in March shortly after she turned 16, according to the girl’s mother. The pair met at Rockwell’s home to avoid being seen and initially had protected sex before beginning to have unprotected sex after Rockwell showed the girl medical documents showing that he had a clean sexual health. On Aug. 25, the teen began suffering from bleeding and pain and eventually told her mother about her relationship with Rockwell. She was taken to a hospital, where it was confirmed she had STIs. A police report was also filed, and on Aug. 31, police issued a warrant Rockwell’s arrest.
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According to Thailand Law Library, while the age of consent in Thailand is 15, anyone who “takes away” someone over the age of 15 but under 18 “for indecent act with consent of such person, shall be punished with imprisonment of not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht ($280), or both.” Police said that in addition to “taking away” the minor, Rockwell also secretly filmed and photographed the pair’s sexual encounters.
“The police could not find him still on Friday so they asked if my daughter can lure him out for a meeting and we did that together with police presence while she texted him. And that’s how he was arrested on Saturday,” the girl’s mother told NBC. “I was so shocked and it gave me a big punch in the chest. I was filled with sorrow and anger when I found out what he did [the recordings] to my daughter.”
Rockwell was eventually arrested at his luxury apartment on Saturday and charged with “sex with a minor” and “recording the acts,” according to the Daily Mail. The offense of “taking away” a minor for an “indecent act” carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail. Rockwell appeared in court on Monday night and was released on bail. His TikTok account has since been set to private.
