TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A Tampa man was arrested early Friday morning after deputies say he knowingly helped an 11-year-old girl who was listed as a runaway by driving her to a different city and tried to rent her a hotel room.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, 50-year-old Thomas Tate told deputies the girl, who he said he did not know, arrived at his Tampa home and asked him for a ride to meet a “friend” in St. Petersburg.
Tate said the girl then asked him to take her to the nearest hotel, which he did, the arrest report says.
Deputies say he spoke to the hotel clerk and asked for a hotel room for the 11-year-old.
According to the arrest report, Tate acknowledged that he knew the girl’s age at the time of the incident, did not try to contact her family, and couldn’t say why he did not call law enforcement.
Pinellas County records show Tate has since bonded out.
