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Ohio Father Lured Suspected Rapist on TikTok and Shot Him

Grand jury indictments for the accused with separate felony charges for the father highlight legal questions over vigilantism, social media evidence, court responses.

Overview

  • Prosecutors say the girl’s mother discovered a video of an apparent sexual assault on the child’s phone on July 15, 2026, which prompted police to visit the family home.
  • The next day, July 16, 2026, prosecutors say Malik Chandler pretended to be his 11-year-old daughter on TikTok to lure Diego Montoya Gonzalez to the house and then shot him twice.
  • Montoya Gonzalez was arrested, prosecutors say investigators found multiple videos of child sexual abuse on his phone, and a grand jury indicted him on counts including two rape charges, five counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, and obstruction.
  • Chandler was charged with felonious assault and related weapons counts, is held on a $100,000 bond, and told investigators he planned to detain Gonzalez but fired after believing Gonzalez reached for a gun.
  • The case has immediate legal consequences for both men and broader implications for how courts treat vigilante actions and digital evidence from platforms like TikTok during child-sex-abuse investigations.