A 17-year-old girl allegedly fled to a Chipotle after what investigators describe as a sexual assault tied to a dating app meeting in New Mexico and Arizona. Police say the case now centers on two young men who allegedly drove hours to meet her and then later faced separate criminal charges in Maricopa County.
Preston McKee, 22, and Brodie Hester, 21, allegedly traveled six hours to meet the teenager after she told them she was 18 and trying to leave an abusive situation, investigators said. The group then went from New Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona, where law enforcement says the men discovered she was 17 after finding her ID. The teen later told investigators the men took her to a hotel, restrained her, placed a ball gag in her mouth and put a kinky mask over her face before sexually assaulting her.
According to the account she gave police, the men eventually left her behind and she got away. She then walked until she reached a nearby Chipotle, where she asked for help and called 911, investigators said. The chain restaurant became the place where the teen sought safety after the alleged ordeal, turning an ordinary stop into the point where police were brought into the case.
When detectives questioned the suspects, their versions reportedly changed. Hester first told police that he and the girl had only kissed. He later admitted to having sex with her four times, including encounters that allegedly happened after he knew she was 17, court records say. McKee also allegedly admitted having sex with the teenager after learning her real age.
