Man arrested for minor relationship, assault

LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) — A 27-year-old man from Longview was recently arrested after being accused of having an inappropriate online relationship and sexual assault of a child. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by our news partner KETK, a deputy from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office spoke with the victim’s mother in April 2025, who had recently discovered her 12-year-old daughter was having a sexual relationship with an adult man.

The victim’s mother told authorities that she did not initially report the incident because she was under the impression that the suspect was 14 years old. The mother discovered that the suspect was an adult after going through her daughter’s phone, where she also found information proving that the suspect had sexual relationships with her daughter.
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As she continued searching her daughter’s phone, the victim’s mother told officials that she had discovered that the suspect had allegedly come to her home and had allegedly sexually assaulted her daughter. The victim’s phone was later taken to the Smith County Technology Lab to be searched.

On May 19, 2025, a detective met with the victim and her mother. During the meeting, the victim stated that she only knew the suspect by his Snapchat username and claimed that he had asked her if she could come over, which she said yes to, although she believed he would not actually come.

After the suspect agreed to come over and advised he was on his way to her home, the victim asked how he knew where she lived, since she had not provided him with her address. The suspect stated that he could see her location on Snapchat.

According to the affidavit, the suspect later arrived at the victim’s home and requested that she come out to his car. After the victim got into the suspect’s car, he requested her to participate in sexual intercourse with him, which she was initially hesitant to do due to him appearing older than he stated he was, but later agreed to participate.

After receiving records from Snapchat, officials found the cell phone number registered to the suspect’s account, which was used to identify the suspect as 27-year-old Nakerey Marquez Gardner of Longview. Officials matched Gardner to the description the victim provided during the interview.

Following the investigation, Gardner was placed under arrest on May 27 and was charged with aggravated sexual assault and online solicitation of a minor under 14.