Registered Offender, 33, Arrested For Having Sex With Burbank Teen After Phone App Hookup

BURBANK (CBSLA.com) —  Burbank Police have announced the arrest of a 33-year-old Hanford man they said had sex with a Burbank teen after the two hooked up via a phone app.

Police began investigating Arnold McGovern last month.

The 16-year-old juvenile told police she met McGovern in February 2016 after meeting on the phone app. The two agreed to have consensual sex at her Burbank residence.

The teen's mother later found text messages between her daughter and McGovern on the daughter's phone. The mom conducted her own initial investigation and ultimately found the suspect on California's Megan's Law website. She brought her daughter to the Burbank Police Station to report the sexual encounter.

Police said McGovern is not only a registered sex offender but that he was on probation for a prior conviction involving lewd acts with a minor more than 10 years younger than him.

Burbank Police Detectives worked with the Hanford Police Department on the execution of arrest and search warrants for McGovern and his residence in Hanford.  Investigators seized the suspect's phone, computers and other digital evidence.

McGovern was booked into the Kings County Jail on several charges, including having sex with a minor, sexual penetration of a minor, contact with a minor for the purpose of lewd and lascivious behavior with a prior sex crimes conviction and for contacting and meeting a minor for the purpose of sexual contact.

The suspect is expected to appear in court next week in Kings County for extradition proceedings, which will lead to his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Burbank PD said this is another reminder parents need to be vigilant in monitoring their children's internet and phone usage. They want to remind parents that predators continually use the internet, social media and phone apps to find victims.