Man charged with texting girl, 13
Apr. 30—BEVERLY — A Gloucester man is due back in court in Salem next month on charges that he sent dozens of sexually explicit messages to a 13-year-old Beverly girl, trying to convince her to meet him for sex, last year.
Edward Stanley, 38, of 45 Willowood Drive has pleaded not guilty to a charge of child enticement and remains free on $7,500 bail, according to court records.
The messages came to light last October, after a Beverly school adjustment counselor contacted the child's guardian to report that the girl may have been receiving text messages from a man.
As it turns out, the child's guardian told police, she had already tried to cut off the man's contact with the girl by buying her a new phone with a different number, according to a police report filed in the case.
Stanley allegedly used Facebook, WhatsApp and Words with Friends to send messages to the girl, according to the police report. He also allegedly instructed her to delete messages. The girl complied with some of the requests but police recovered dozens of messages on WhatsApp and Words with Friends during their investigation.
The girl told police that the man, who is distantly related to her, first contacted her on Facebook and began sending her messages. "Then it got really weird," the girl told police, explaining how Stanley began giving her nicknames like "Baby Girl" and calling her beautiful and sexy. Eventually, he began asking for photos and telling the girl she should sneak out of the house to meet him for sex, which the girl did not do. He also allegedly suggested that she bring a younger sibling, and told her he wishes she was 18.
The girl told police "she did not know what to do," according to the report.
Stanley deleted his Facebook account prior to police being notified, according to the report.
Stanley has been ordered to have no contact with the girl and to obey a restraining order. He was also ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children under 16 except for his own and to stay off of social media.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for May 20 in Salem District Court.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.
