A man faces charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl after meeting her on Snapchat, state police said.
Rio Vulinovic, 20, of Branford turned himself in on Nov. 7 on a warrant charging him with first-degree sexual assault involving the use or threat of force, second-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and third-degree strangulation or suffocation, according to Connecticut State Police.
State police began investigating the allegations in April 2024 after the victim, who was 13 at the time, told someone she may have been pregnant after being sexually assaulted in February or March of that year, according to the arrest warrant affidavit supporting the charges She said she had met the man who assaulted her on Snapchat, state police wrote, adding that a pregnancy test later came back negative.
The individual the victim confided in spoke to an investigator and said the teen admitted she had left her home without permission to meet a man she only knew as “Rio” from East Hartford, the warrant affidavit said. The teen said he had told her he was younger than he looked when she met him in person, according to the warrant affidavit.
The individual said the teen said the man picked her up in an SUV or a Jeep and drove her to a dirt parking area in Chaplin, where the teen alleged he raped her, the warrant affidavit said.
During a forensic interview in May 2024, the victim told state police she believed the man who picked her up was 16 years old and that they had not talked about having sex, according to the warrant affidavit. She said she believed they would only be hanging out and smoking together.
After being picked up around 11 p.m., the victim said she immediately noticed the man did not look like a photo he had sent her, the warrant affidavit said. She said she got into the backseat of the vehicle because she felt bad for him and that he later jumped into the backseat after parking.
The victim alleged that the man immediately took his clothes off, at which point she “froze,” according to the warrant affidavit. She alleges he then took her clothes off and held her down, telling an investigator she was crying and scared throughout the ordeal, the warrant affidavit said. She said she was “spazzing and kicking,” but the man had all of his weight on her, state police wrote.
At one point, the teen told police the man put his hand around her neck, which left her barely able to breathe, the warrant affidavit said. She said she was unable to get away from him and that he allegedly told her she “didn’t really have a choice,” according to the warrant affidavit.
The girl said she tried to bite him, but he opened her mouth using his hand which made her jaw feel like it was going to “snap,” the warrant affidavit said. She said he started yelling at her shortly thereafter and kicked her out of the vehicle while she was still unclothed, according to the warrant affidavit. She said he threw her clothes out and drove away.
The girl walked home and got there around 1 a.m., she told police.
According to the warrant affidavit, the man later messaged the victim and asked to see her again. When she told him she thought she was pregnant and that she was only 13, he allegedly said he was “just a kid too,” state police wrote.
“I know you miss me, I know you liked it,” the man allegedly wrote to her, the warrant affidavit said. ‘“I know you actually weren’t scared, stop trying to make yourself look like a victim, I know you actually liked that stuff.”
The victim told police the man attributed his behavior to being “just in the moment,” the warrant affidavit said. She said he blocked her when she told him she would report him if he didn’t stop talking to her, according to the warrant affidavit.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the victim’s Snapchat account in June 2024, which led them to identifying the account belonging to a suspect, the warrant affidavit said. After obtaining a search warrant for that account, state police were able to identify Vulinovec as a suspect, state police wrote.
The victim reportedly picked out Vulinovec from a photo lineup and alleged to investigators that he was the one who sexually assaulted her, the warrant affidavit said.
Using a search warrant for Vulinovec’s cell phone account, state police said they found that the device had connected to a cell tower in Chaplin on March 13, 2024, shortly after 11:10 p.m., the warrant affidavit said. It was the only time they could find that the phone connected to a tower in the town, state police wrote.
Investigators also found a nexus between Vulinovec and a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but discovered that it had been salvaged since the incident, the warrant affidavit said.
Police spoke to Vulinovec in May when he admitted he used to have a Jeep but said he ended up “junking” it, according to the warrant affidavit. He also denied meeting the victim on Snapchat and said he did not know where Chaplin is, the warrant affidavit said.
Vulinovec allegedly admitted that he has met girls on Snapchat and had driven a long way to see them, the warrant affidavit said.
“I mean, I’ve done that before but I don’t remember this one exactly,” he allegedly said when told the victim identified him as someone who picked her up.
Vulinovec told police “he did not remember” having sex with someone against her will and that he never lied about his name or age, the warrant affidavit said. He also said he did not recognize the victim’s name.
Vulinovec later admitted it was possible he had sex with the victim, but maintained that it would have been consensual, according to the warrant affidavit. Later on in the interview, he asked to speak with his mother and did not answer any questions after that, state police wrote.
Vulinovec was released on $175,000 bond following his arrest and was expected to face a judge on Monday in Danielson Superior Court.