Claremore Rape Victim Warns Of Social Media Dangers

A Claremore man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl he met online. She's now 15 and warning others about the risks that come with social media.

The girl and her father want to remain anonymous, but she said her friend got the Meet Me app and gave the man, who would eventually rape her, her phone number.

Her friend gave Harley McFarland her phone number, without permission, and her phone started lighting up.

"I never thought that something this big would come out of that little text,” the girl said.

When she asked him to stop texting her, he did, but months later the texts started again.

"You have to hang out with me, and he was making like vague threats. He was saying like, 'or else,'" the girl said.

Concerned he'd make good on the threats she snuck out to meet him, but nothing happened. In fact, she said he made her comfortable.

"He was what they call 'grooming' me, I guess,” she said.

They hung out again, but she said it was different. The 21 year old took her to Claremore Lake and raped her.

"You think you guide them, and direct them and protect them, and it surely wouldn't happen in your household, so yeah, it's pretty tough,” the girl's father said.

Her dad has seen her strength over the past two years, and now she's warning other teens.

"If someone contacts you that's older than you or that you don't know or anything, tell your parents. Don't just delete it and ignore it. Tell them right away. Be like, 'Hey, this happened,'” she said.

Her dad has a warning, as well. He said he had a plan in place to check her phone, but it's easy to miss a few texts.

"Just be really careful who you let into your life,” the girl said.

McFarland said the girl told him she was 17, but she said that's not true.

The judge cried when the girl read her statement in court, "I will always have flashbacks. I will always have nightmares...I do not want anyone else to have to go through the pain I have gone through."