AURORA, Colo. -- An Aurora father who discovered lewd, sexual texts on his daughter's cell phone says he wants the teenager who sent them punished. The problem? Investigators say no crime has been committed.
Chad Barrett said he learned about the disturbing texts last March, when he overheard a phone conversation his daughter was having with a friend.
“I took her phone and saw a text conversation that was very graphic,” Barrett said. “He would request nude pictures and sex acts.”
He said the teenager described, in detail, specific body parts.
“He would ask if her parents were home after school, so he could get condoms and come over,” the dismayed father said.
Barrett said what upset him the most, was reading a text where the teen admitted lying to police in a previous instance, about having nude pictures of another juvenile on his phone.
“They just let me go and said, ‘don’t let it happen again,’” the teen texted.
Dad wants charges filed
Barrett said he called the School Resource Officer at Vista Peak Prep, and then met with the principal and counselor “to find out how to get the action stopped.”
He told them he wanted charges filed, but that never happened.
“He pretty much chalked it off like it was normal nowadays,” Barrett said. “It was unfortunate, but it was normal.”
Barrett said if the teen sent pictures before and was asking for them again, it’s not a good sign.
“I definitely feel the kid broke the law,” he said.
But investigators felt otherwise.
When asked about his daughter’s reaction to the texts, Barrett replied, “She said many times, ‘No, I will not send you these messages. I’m not a h--.’“
He added that his daughter is a minor and makes mistakes.
“She never brings it to our attention," he said, "or says ‘stop, stop, stop.’”
Police told Barrett that the “details related to this incident do not meet the definition of exploitation of a child and does not meet the prosecutorial requirement for criminal charges.”
Unsatisfied, Barrett went to the District Attorney. He said they investigated the case and came to the same conclusion as police.
“Nobody is protecting the kids,” he said, “and with examples like this, the kids probably feel it’s not wrong.”
Barrett charged with Harassment
While looking into this case, Denver7 learned that prosecutors filed a Harassment charge against Barrett.
He said he initially tried to get a restraining order against the teen, to keep him from texting his daughter, but the court wouldn’t issue one unless he had the teen’s full name.
He said the school wouldn't provide it, but he found it online.
“The court then said I needed his parent’s names,” he said, “but the school wouldn’t provide that either.”
Frustrated, Barrett said he called the boy and told him how disgusted he was by the lewd texts.
Barrett has pleaded "not guilty" to the Harassment charge.
The judge issued a mandatory protection order in the case and set May 17 as the date for a Jury Trial.
---------
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.