Idaho man had 'consensual' sex with underage girl in exchange for vape pen, could be charged with rape

AMMON, IDAHO: An Idaho Falls man has been arrested on Wednesday, April 15, for having sex with a teenage girl in exchange for a vape pen. Tyler M Meng has admitted to the crime and told investigators that he traded sex in exchange for a vape pen with the girl.

The 26-year-old’s arrest came after investigators received a Facebook message. As per court documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com, the social media site sent sexually explicit messages to investigators alerting them about the incident.

Soon after learning about the Facebook messages, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force officials talked with the teenage victim. The court documents also revealed that in 2019, Meng and the girl, who was 15-year-old at the time, had sex three times at his then-Ammon home.

The victim told investigators that she did not like the accused but still agreed for the sex as she wanted the vape pen for her teenage friend. She said she met Meng through her friend who was sexually involved with his roommate, Ian Lynn Brown. The girl also admitted that she once “hooked up” with Brown.

The victim has however called the sexual activities consensual despite she felt uncomfortable all the time. Investigators also discovered that Meng knew of the girl’s actual age but told others she was 18 so he would not get into trouble.

The detectives’ report stated that the alleged pedophile has admitted to the claims made by his victim, but he also mentioned that the incident happened at a low point in his life while he was drinking heavily. Menga has been charged with one felony count of lewd conduct with a child under 16. He is currently in the Bonneville County Jail on $25,000 bail. He will appear for a preliminary hearing on April 29.

Meng’s arrest comes months after his 27-year-old friend Brown was taken into custody in October 2019. He had walked five miles in the middle of the night to meet up with a teenage girl for sex while on house arrest.

He came into the notice of detectives after his parole officer found sexual text messages between him and the 15-year-old victim in September last year. At the time, Brown was on probation for a previous felony forgery charge, according to the court documents.

He told officers that he met up with his victim at the house she lived at then walked to a pond at Snake River Landing. Initially, he denied having sex with the teenager and had claimed he was just helping her as she was struggling with suicidal thoughts, something that he had experienced. His victim also denied any forceful sex.

However, he later admitted to the sexual activity. “Ian insisted that he hadn’t intended to have sex with (the victim) and that he simply had been lonely due to his house arrest,” a detective report said.

Under Idaho law, if an adult engages in sexual activity with a teenager, he or she can be charged with rape or sexual abuse. Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19 after he pleaded guilty to felony rape where the victim is underage.