St. Louis Man Accused of Using Snapchat to Lure, Rape at Least 5 Underage Girls Turns Himself In
A Missouri man accused of using Snapchat to lure and rape underage girls at his home has turned himself in, PEOPLE confirms.
Dominic Yocco, 19, surrendered to St. Louis County police Wednesday, two days after police asked for the public’s help in finding him. They had been searching for Yocco since July and feared for the safety of local girls.
“Every day that we don’t catch him, there could be another victim, so we definitely need to get him into custody immediately,” Officer Tracy Panus said, KMOV4 reports.
Authorities allege that Yocco used Snapchat as a way to communicate with his alleged victims and lure them to his home, where he would allegedly go on to sexually assault and rape them.
“This gentleman has posted stories on his Snapchat where he’s luring these girls in. He’s posting stuff on his story that enables him to reach these young girls, he goes and picks them up, brings them to his house where he rapes them, sexually molests them and then he brings them home,” Panus alleged about Yocco, the station reports.
A 16-year-old girl told investigators that, on two separate occasions, Yocco allegedly held her down, slapped her, hit her and raped her with a gun in view nearby. Five other girls alleged Yocco raped them, sometimes while they were unconscious, KMOV4 reports.
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Yocco, who lives near an elementary school, has been charged with four counts of first degree rape, two counts of third degree assault, two count of second degree rape and one count of first degree statutory rape.
Since his arrest, an additional victim has come forward with new claims, which police are investigating. St. Louis County police are urging any additional victims to call them at 314-615-5400.
