GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Snellville police say a man used video games to lure two teenage boys into an empty home.
Channel 2 Action News watched police search the home on Timberline Trace for several hours Wednesday afternoon. Online records with the Gwinnett County Tax Assessor's Office indicate Matthew Crawford owns the home, but neighbors said he never really moved in.
Police said he brought two teens to the home Sunday night after developing a relationship with one on Facebook.
"Here's a guy in his late 20s, and what type of relationship would a guy in his late 20s have with teenagers?" said Snellville Police Department Cpt. Harold Thomas.
Police believe the alleged relationship between Crawford, 28, and two teens, ages 13 and 15, began online and ended in the basement of his Snellville home.
Police said Crawford used the Facebook profile name 'Matt Smoker' and chatted with one of the teens about video games.
According to the police report, that teen met Crawford at least five times in-person.
Investigators said on Sunday he again arranged to see the teen and his friend.
Police said he wanted to meet the teens in a public place, so they agreed to meet at the Wendy's restaurant off Loganville Highway. Investigators say the teens hopped in his car, and they headed to the home.
"While they was playing video games, he started making sexual advances to one," Thomas said.
The boys ran and called police.
"I was shocked because he seemed like a really nice guy," neighbor Bob Jones said.
Jones said Crawford would come and go from the home a couple of times a month. But he never really moved in.
"You don't see furniture in there. So it's an odd home," Thomas said.
Outside, we found bottles of beer and Gatorade on a patio table.
Parents in the Summit Chase neighborhood said this is another reminder for kids about potential dangers lurking on the internet.
"I tell my kids all the time, 'Do not mess with strangers.' It's awful," parent Kristen Mullins said.
http://bcove.me/6ix3b6rk
The boys ran and called police. Crawford was charged with two counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes -- the same charge he faced in 2010.
According to a Gwinnett County police report, Crawford made a sexual advance toward a 14-year-old he met on MySpace in December 2008.
He was out on bail for that charge. The case has yet to go to trial.
Online court records indicate he changed attorneys, and his attorneys had each filed for leaves of absences and conflicts.
We spoke to the District Attorney's Office today. The DA says the office filed a petition to revoke Crawford's bond on the 2010 charge.
He was denied bond on the new charges.
We reached out to Crawford today at the Gwinnett County Jail for an interview, but he declined.
He is expected back in court in early June.
WSBTV
