According to Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Craig Brady, when 16-year-old Pecan Grove resident Alyssa Rehfield left her home and ran off with 36-year-old David Karan, it was consensual – and not the first time the two had physical contact.
Karan has been charged with enticing a child, a third degree felony, and is being held in New Mexico on a $150,000 bond. He will eventually be extradited to Fort Bend County.
“Without question she was with him of her own accord,” said Brady. “If she were 18 years old, we wouldn’t be here talking.”
An Amber Alert was issued for Rehfield Tuesday when her mother discovered her missing. The alert was cancelled late last night after the pair was found in Raton, New Mexico.
They were pulled over in Karan’s car by local authorities.
Karan has been charged with enticing a child, a third degree felony, and is being held in New Mexico on a $150,000 bond. He will eventually be extradited to Fort Bend County.
Brady said Karan has no verifiable criminal record.
According to Brady, Rehfield and Karan, who met through a social networking Internet site, have had an ongoing relationship since at least 2009.
Karan has apparently been living since June in an extended stay hotel near Fort Bend County. Brady did not know where he lived previously.
According to Brady, in 2009 Rehfield’s mother raised allegations of sexual contact between Karan and her daughter, but the Harris County District Attorney’s Office never went ahead with the charges.
Brady said he is unsure why charges were not filed.
“That’s not really uncommon,” said Brady. “A lot of times parents don’t want to subject their children to the legal process and testifying in court.”
Rehfield is still in New Mexico, in the custody of the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department. Her mother and stepfather are on their way to get her.
Karan faces the possibility of additional charges once he is interviewed by Fort Bend County detectives.
Consentual maybe but 16 and the parents don’t approve, there is a reason we have these laws. If the dude was 18, and lived in the area ( not in a motel ) and well regarded, you could say this is a budding love affair separated by a statute. I will say it again, these laws are on the books for a reason. Mainly, so your daughter doesn’t end up kidnapped and sold into white slavery.
Raising a girl is he!!, my heart goes out to the parents of this youth…
One can see how Middle East cultures come up with some pretty hair brained ideas on how to managed these cases. Emotionally, they make sense.