A 15-year-old Ohio teen who had been reported missing earlier this month was found walking in a Fenton hotel hallway alongside a 42-year-old Michigan man, according to federal authorities. The FBI arrested Chason William-Gregory Pointer of Grand Blanc, who is now facing federal charges that accuse him of transporting a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and of coercing or enticing the juvenile. Investigators say the case started when an online tip flagged a suspicious conversation involving someone believed to be the missing teen.
How investigators followed the online trail
According to CBS News, Reddit alerted the FBI on April 3 about a March 30 and 31 exchange between two users that appeared to involve a missing minor from Ohio. Court filings describe one user identifying themselves by the teen’s first name and claiming to be 18, while sharing photos that matched publicly circulated images of the missing youth. Investigators say the conversation then moved to Snapchat and turned sexually explicit. New Media Detroit reports that agents used usernames and IP addresses to connect the online accounts to a specific subscriber.
Phone records trace the route to a Fenton hotel
Emergency subscriber data and call-location records linked the online account to Pointer, investigators say, and showed his phone leaving Grand Blanc around 12:27 a.m. on April 3, traveling to the Toledo area roughly two hours later, then returning to Fenton, according to ClickOnDetroit. Hotel employees told agents that Pointer was registered to Room 215. When FBI agents and Fenton police knocked, they reported finding Pointer and the teen walking in the hallway and separated them. During a pat-down, agents recovered a knife and a cellphone from Pointer, the outlet reports.
What Pointer allegedly told the FBI
Pointer told an FBI agent that he met the teen through a Reddit chat group and claimed the juvenile had been looking for a sugar daddy, according to court documents cited by CBS News. He denied knowing the teen was 15, according to the filing. Pointer admitted picking the teen up in Toledo and bringing the minor to Michigan, but he asked for an attorney when agents questioned him about any sexual contact. Local reporting also notes that Pointer previously faced an Oakland County arrest for assault and battery in 2019, records show.
The federal charges and potential consequences
The complaint charges Pointer with transporting an individual under 18 in interstate commerce with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and with coercion and enticement, according to ClickOnDetroit. Those counts primarily reference 18 U.S.C. § 2423 and 18 U.S.C. § 2422, which carry some of the toughest penalties in federal criminal law. Section 2423(a), for instance, includes mandatory minimum prison terms in certain situations and can result in sentences that stretch for decades, according to the statute as summarized by Cornell LII. In some cases, defendants argue they reasonably believed the other person was 18, though how that claim is treated depends on the specific charge and the evidence.
What happens next and where to get help
Pointer made his initial appearance in federal court in Bay City, where he was temporarily detained, with a detention hearing set for April 10, according to local reports. The FBI and local law enforcement are continuing their investigation. Authorities say the teen has been located and is currently in law enforcement care.
If you have information about a missing or exploited child, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or reach out to your local FBI field office.
