Winfield police arrest man for inappropriate contact with a child

Police in Winfield say they arrested a North Carolina man charged with indecent contact with a child and possession of Marijuana after he called the office requesting a ride to a motel.

“When we arrived, he explained he had just arrived in Winfield a few hours earlier to meet his girlfriend he met on Facebook,” a Facebook post from the city’s police department said. “After further interview and waking up the juvenile girlfriend and her parents to get their statements, Zachary Girard, 24 years of age from Charlotte, NC was arrested.”

The girlfriend in question was 13 years old according to a criminal complaint of the case, which said Girard had been informed of the girl’s age and asked to stop contacting her by a parent.

The department used the opportunity to warn parents of the potential dangers of social media.

“He had rode a bus from Charlotte to Iowa City … and got an Uber from Iowa City to Winfield,” it said in the Facebook post. “This could've ended much differently if this man had driven his own vehicle to Winfield and picked up the juvenile and left with her. Do you really know what your children are doing online?”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com