A 42-year-old Texas woman who allegedly lured a 16-year-old boy from his home in Barrie, Ont., has been arrested in Houston.
The Houston Chronicle reports Lauri Price was arrested early Tuesday when her return flight arrived at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Ms. Price – a mother of four – has been charged with two counts of online solicitation of a minor and one count of child enticement.
“The (online) chats they have are incredibly sexually explicit,” Harris County prosecutor Eric Devlin told the Houston Chronicle.
Barrie police say Ms. Price won't face charges in Canada for allegedly convincing Andrew Kane to run away with her because the age of consent in Canada is 16. In Texas, the age of consent is 17.
“She enticed him to leave home. That's illegal in the state of Texas,” Mr. Devlin is quoted as saying. “It doesn't even matter if it's within the age of consent in a foreign country.”
Investigators said they believe Ms. Price struck up a relationship with the boy about two years ago while playing an online fantasy game.
Barrie police say Ms. Price apparently flew to Canada from Houston on Dec. 29, rented a car in Toronto and drove to Barrie and picked up the teenager at his home.
The disappearance prompted a search that ended last Thursday when the pair were spotted in nearby Orillia, Ont.
Barrie police say the teenager was unharmed and was later returned to his parents, and while Ms. Price was questioned, she was released after they concluded she hadn't broken any Canadian law.
Ms. Price remains in the Harris County Jail with a combined bail of $310,000 for the three charges.
