TRUE CRIME'A Dangerous Online Predator': Pro Golfer Daniel Bowling Arrested After Allegedly Trying To Meet With 15-Year-Old Girl
May 7 2021, Published 12:10 p.m. ET
Professional golfer Daniel Bowling was arrested in Florida on Thursday, May 6, after he allegedly tried to meet up with an underage girl he believed to be 15.
Bowling was taken into custody by a Crimes Against Children detective after he attempted to meet up with who he thought was a teenager, but was actually an undercover police officer, according to the Orlando Police Department.
Authorities described the golfer as “a dangerous online predator” after his arrest, according to PEOPLE. Bowling reportedly contacted the decoy on AdChat in April. Police said his conversations with who he thought was a teenager “turned sexual in nature within the first 24 hours and intensified quickly.”
Bowling was arrested “without incident” after he reportedly “arrived to meet up with the decoy.”
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The 26-year-old athlete was charged with obscene communication, traveling to meet with a minor and attempted lewd and lascivious molestation, according to reports.
"Unfortunately, there are potentially hundreds of predators like Mr. Bowling online," Jennifer Wing of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force said after his arrest. "I hope news of today's arrest encourages parents to be more proactive in monitoring their children's lives online."
Bowling has played in seven PGA Tour-affiliated events since 2012, the Orlando Sentinel reported. His last appearance came on the Mackenzie Tour’s National Capital Open to Support Our Troops in 2016.
As of last week, Bowling posted via Instagram he was down at the Orange Tree Golf Club in Florida for pre-qualifying rounds of the U.S. Open. “Always a treat playing Orange Tree,” he captioned the post alongside a series of photos showing the course.
