Cape Coral man accused of threatening underage Polk County girls

FORT MYERS, Fla.- A Cape Coral man is accused of threatening underage girls with rape and arson unless they sent him nude photos.

Lucas D. Bales, 25, is facing multiple charges including extortion, aggravated stalking of a minor, and threatening to kill or cause bodily harm for the crimes committed in Polk County.

The investigation began on Feb. 8, when a Polk County man contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office about his 11-year-old daughter being harassed by a person calling himself “.Daddy” on the KIK messaging app.

The suspect told the minor he was going to post her home address on the Internet, asking people to go rape her, set her house on fire, or hurt her, unless she sent him nude photos and videos of herself, authorities said.

Detectives found another Polk County 12-year-old girl who was also being threatened and extorted by the same KIK user, officials said.

After identifying Bales as a suspect, authorities served a search warrant at his Cape Coral home on Thursday. Messages where Bales was threatening and extorting the girls were found on some of his electronic devices, authorities said. More charges are pending as authorities analyze Bales’ cellphone and computers.

During the search of his home, detectives also found marijuana. Cape Coral police took Bales into custody for drug possession while he is held on the Polk County warrant. He will be extradited to Polk County at a later date.