NORTH FORT MYERS
A North Fort Myers man faces a charge of lewd or lascivious battery after deputies arrested him Thursday night, saying he raped a teenager he met playing Fortnite.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Dillon Atkinson, 26, was arrested after the 15-year-old victim’s parents suspected she had helped someone sneak out of their home. They looked through her school-issued Chromebook and found a chat log between the victim and a user with the email address listed as dillon_atkinson@icloud.com. When they confronted her about it, the victim admitted to having a sexual relationship with a 26-year-old man.
She said she met him via Fortnite in June 2022 and had recently begun talking to him again. The victim told her father that she and the man had sex multiple times over the previous two weeks.
Detectives from LCSO’s special victims unit took over the investigation. responded to the scene and assumed the investigation. The victim was transported to the Children’s Advocacy Center and provided more information during a forensic interview. She said Atkinson was aware that she was 15 years old, and she was aware he was 26 years old. Atkinson told the victim that he did not have a personal vehicle, only a work vehicle.
The first incident occurred inside Atkinson’s work truck after he picked up the victim near her school and bought her food from Burger King. Afterward, he dropped her off at a convenience store. The second incident occurred on Dec. 21, when Atkinson picked up the victim and took her to his home on Lowell Avenue. The victim said Atkinson’s condom broke, so he took her to a nearby Walgreens afterward to purchase Plan B as a precaution.
Atkinson confirmed the victim’s story when interviewed by detectives, but said he was unaware of the legal age of consent and that the victim claimed to be 16. He was placed under arrest and transported to the Lee County Jail.
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