Police arrest 36-year-old 'Playstation predator' who lured 14-year-old boy from California to Tampa after meeting him on gaming network
- Tony McLeod, 36, was arrested at Tampa International Airport after flying to meet a 14-year-old boy in his hometown in California
- He returned home on a flight with the boy after allegedly grooming him online
- McLeod allegedly befriended the teenager playing online PlayStation games before sending him sexually explicit texts and photographs via cell phone
- Police tracked McLeod's mobile phone to Long Beach, California before learning he'd boarded a flight with the boy back to his home in Tampa
- The boy is being reunited with his family in Escondido
A 36-year-old Florida man has been arrested for kidnapping a 14-year-old boy after meeting him via an online Playstation game and sending him explicit photos and text messages.
Tony McLeod allegedly flew from Tampa to Escondido, California, and lured the boy to a Los Angeles airport, where the pair boarded a flight back to Tampa.
Thankfully the boy's parents raised the alarm when he did not return home from school on Monday and police were on the ground in Tampa to meet the pair off the plane.
Arrested: Tony McLeod, 36, flew from Florida to California then lured a 14-year-old boy back to Tampa with him after previously contacting the boy via an online PlayStation game
In the weeks prior to the kidnapping, they had begun to suspect someone was preying on their son after finding sexually explicit materials on his mobile phone from McLeod.
The parents called McLeod's cell phone warning him to stay away from their son and alerted police, but McLeod changed his phone number and began to lay low, making it difficult for police to find him.
The boy's parents were worried McLeod, who had initially contacted their son via an online Playstation game, was involved in his disappearance.
Authorities were alerted to the boy's disappearance and police immediately gained the legal permissions required to track his cell phone.
Intercepted: Due to some quick detective work, California police were able to alert their Tampa counterparts to the kidnapping and local police were at Tampa International Airport when the plane with McLeod and the boy landed
They tracked McLeod to Long Beach, California, before learning that he had boarded a non-stop flight for Tampa with the eighth grader.
It's unclear exactly how McLeod lured the boy onto the six-hour-plus flight, but police say he is a 'very sophisticated predator'.
'It's mind-boggling...this person was particularly bold,' said Major Brian Dugan of the Tampa Police force.
When the plane landed at 6:09am Tuesday, Tampa authorities were on the tarmac to arrest McLeod and take the boy into protection.
'I think when you go to a different state and you bring a 14-year-old boy back - and you're an adult and the cops are waiting for you on the runway...I think the gig is up,' said Dugan.
McLeod is charged with kidnapping, interfering with custody, traveling to meet a minor and transmission of harmful material to a minor.
'This case originally came to our attention because of the family monitoring the young man's phone, and even then this happened, which just goes as a warning that you cannot monitor your children closely enough when it comes to the internet,' an officer with Escondido Police Department told 10 News.
'When it comes to the phone, they literally have the world available to them.'
Child's play: Video games aren't just the realm of children, and it was through an online game that 36-year-old McLeod initially made contact with the teenager he eventually flew to Florida with (FILE PHOTO)
At McLeod's condo right across the road from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, crime scene technicians and detectives searched for clues.
'This kid, no one knows what was going to happen to him here in Tampa,' Dugan said.
McLeod's neighbors were shocked by the news.
'He seemed like a nice guy. It's messed up; people are messed up,' said one to 10 News.
According to Dugan, McLeod has no criminal record.
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