But why exactly is this good looking D1 athlete looking online to meet a 13 year old girl? Something ain't right with him, because why would a college student be looking to meet with a someone who is barely a teen (assuming allegations are correct)? And the victim looks like a child, so it's not like he could have reasonably believe she was older after meeting her.
I don't think we know for sure that was actually him, and if it was, that it was his intent to specifically seek out a minor. So, let's assume for a second that it really was DE talking to Nicole. I'm not 100% convinced DE necessarily would have known Nicole was 13 when they started communicating. Given Nicole's vast SM presence, and what I can glean from her one unprotected IG account, I can see that she is yearning for acceptance and affection, especially from boys. It would not surprise me at all that she may have pretended to be older on at least some of her on line accounts in the quest for this, thinking that might make her seem more "popular" or "cool" to the kids who were bullying her. Some of the pictures I've seen of her do make her look quite young. But in others, she could easily pass for 18. And, even if Nicole didn't misrepresent her age, or it never came up, "DE" may have assumed she was 18 due to the nature of the SM apps she was using, or they may not have been connecting on the SM accounts where she had pictures where she looks young. She seemed to have a few various apps, and in at least the Instagram, had a couple of different profiles. I'm just not convinced yet that he was out trolling for minors. But, of course, it is definitely possible.
I think it is easy to get caught up in assuming he was because their relationship has been described in MSM at alternating times as being "sexual" and "inappropriate". However, IMO, just by virtue of Nicole's age, and his age, and whether he knew her age or not, if any part of the conversation turned flirty, it would rightly be defined as "inappropriate". And certainly if any part of a conversation involved the sexting of pictures, either by him or by her, it would be "sexual". I know some boys can be pigs. Some boys routinely ask for "nudes"...and some girls naively comply. There's been a handful of cases here in our area middle schools involving girls who have, even though those cases involved minors soliciting other minors.
And as far as why would a D1 athlete turn to on line relationships? I think there's a good number of college kids are in to Tinder, etc. (To be clear, I have no knowledge that Nicole was on Tinder, however some articles have said she was on teen dating sites, one is linked referenced below). It is part of the "hook up culture" in college these days. Plus, he may have been socially awkward. Plus, I would imagine that he was pretty busy with school and practice, etc. So, he may have found on line relationships suited him better, and were less intimidating. Went on line to find someone, not specifically a 13 year old.
I don't mean to make it sound that he's 100% innocent. I don't think he is. I just can't make the leap that DE was the one doing the soliciting, or that DE was targeting minors. Yet, anyway!
All just my opinion, except for the link.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/nicole-...cle_eb0536c1-7f3b-56ce-b8ca-cec01ff9cb81.html