Man admits to sexually assaulting teen girl as he pleads guilty in TikTok luring case
Court hears Darrel Edison 'Eddie' Worth began communicating with girls months before
A Charlottetown man has pleaded guilty to using the social media platform TikTok to lure teenage girls to his home to commit sex crimes, also admitting that he sexually assaulted one of them.
Darrel Edison Worth, who also goes by 'Eddie,' was 23 years old when the five crimes to which he pleaded guilty on Thursday took place. He is now 24.
He pleaded guilty to making sexually explicit material available to a child, making arrangements to commit a sexual offence against a child, sexual assault, and two counts of child luring.
The victim's identities are protected by a publication ban, but at the time of the crimes, both "Girl 1" and "Girl 2" were 14 years old. Worth was not charged with any crimes connected to the third girl, who was 15.
The events outlined in P.E.I. Supreme Court in Charlottetown began on March 2, 2024.
Worth, who was known to the girls as 'Eric,' picked them up in Summerside and brought them back to his home.
Charlottetown police officers showed up at that address at around 11 p.m. to do a wellness check on the three girls at the request of Summerside Police Services.
They found the girls there and took them to their homes in the Summerside area.
The officers established "there was evidence" that someone called 'Eric' had had sexual intercourse with Girl 1 at the address where police found them. Police then seized Girl 1's clothes, underwear and a phone, and she told officers she had been communicating with 'Eric' on TikTok.
The next day, police did a search and found a car registered to the address where the girls had been found. It was in Worth's grandmother's name. She had died, but police could see a secondary owner listed: Darrel Edison Worth, born in 2000.
That was the first point at which police learned Worth's age. A person under 16 years old cannot legally consent to sexual activity with a 23-year-old under Canadian law.
In the weeks after, police interviewed Girl 1, got a warrant to search her phone, and sent her clothes off for DNA analysis. Worth officially became a suspect when Girl 1 picked him out of a photo lineup.
Worth continued messaging Girl 2
In this same timeframe, as Charlottetown Police Services were beginning to investigate him, Worth continued to communicate via TikTok with Girl 2, who was using her mother's phone.
Full transcripts of these TikTok conversations were filed in court, showing he had begun communicating with the girls months before the March 2 encounter.
Worth told Girl 2 that the situation could have been a lot worse had he answered the door when police knocked that night. He also asked Girl 2 what she and the other girls had told the police.
He told the 14-year-old he wanted to have sex with her and admitted to having penetrative sex with Girl 1. He asked Girl 2 if she was a virgin and whether she had performed oral sex before. He also wanted her to send him photos in some "sexy" clothing.
The two talked about meeting up over three days towards the end of March so that they could "hang out in his car."
That meetup never happened; Girl 2 had her police interview the next day. Police were shown messages on the girl's phone, which included information about the sexual assault on Girl 1.
DNA in underwear matched to Worth
Worth was arrested in September and charged with more than a dozen offences.
Police then seized his phone and got a warrant for his DNA — which came back as a match for DNA found in Girl 1's underwear.
After Worth pleaded guilty to five charges in court last week, the Crown stayed all of the other charges against him. That included other alleged crimes from March 2 and other allegations involving Girl 1 in December 2023.
Worth's lawyer requested a pre-sentence report which will explore his personal history and any circumstances that may be related to the sexual abuse he committed.
He will be back in court for a sentencing hearing in September.
There are resources and supports available to anyone who has experienced sexual violence:
- Victim Services P.E.I. / Queens and Kings County: 902-368-4582; Prince County: 902-888-8218
- Rise P.E.I. / Phone or text: 902-218-6143
- P.E.I. Rape and Sexual Assault Centre / Call: 902-368-8055 or 1-888-368-8055
- Here is a list of sexual assault centres, crisis lines and support services elsewhere in Canada.
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