A 30-year-old registered sexual offender had sex with a 16-year-old girl, Tampa police say.
Officers arrested Shedrick S. Jenrette at Louisiana Avenue and 10th Street shortly before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Jenrette, whose address is unknown, was charged with two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
Investigators say they were sent about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday to a sexual battery in progress. They knew the address was connected to Jenrette, a convicted sexual offender.
When officers arrived, they found a 16-year-old female runaway but not Jenrette. The girl was uncooperative. Officers detained the man a few blocks away.
The girl said she and Jenrette only were friends. But two witnesses said they saw the duo have sex and that Jenrette and the girl acted like boyfriend and girlfriend. The witnesses also said they saw Jenrette taking provocative photos of the girl, police say. Jenrette had the photos on him when he was arrested.
"Officers managed to obtain a good rapport with the victim and she completed a verbal and written statement confirming that she and Shedrick had sexual relations on more than one occasion," a Tampa Police Department report states. "She advised that she and Shedrick were boyfriend/girlfriend and, though she was only 16 years old, she didn't care that he was a 30-year-old sexual offender/predator."
The girl was taken for an examination but refused an exam. Jenrette told police that he and the girl were just friends, officers say.
Jenrette was convicted in 1998 of a sexual offense involving a victim younger than 16, according to the state Department of Corrections' Web site.
Jenrette remains in Orient Road Jail. His bail is set at $15,000.
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