Iowa teen tried to solicit 7-year-old's murder on parody website, officials say

The 17-year-old female, who was not been identified by authorities, was taken into custody without incident on Friday. She is charged with one count of solicitation to commit murder, a class C felony.

"The victim and the victim's family were not harmed and were unaware of the potential threat," the Storm Lake Police Department said in a statement released Monday.

According to the statement, the webmaster of the parody website rentahitman.com reported that a person had visited the site on two occasions and had attempted to solicit the murder of a 7-year-old child in Storm Lake. Details about the child, including the child's name, addresses and where the child could be located were included in the solicitation request. 

Investigators worked throughout the night and identified the person targeted in the incident, as well as a possible suspect. On Friday morning, an undercover police officer posing as a hitman made contact with the suspect and confirmed that she wanted the target killed. At approximately 3:30 p.m., police took the suspect into custody on Geisinger Road in Storm Lake.

Police conducted interviews throughout the afternoon and executed a search warrant on a cell phone, which was seized from the suspect. At approximately 8 p.m., police charged the 17-year-old female. She was referred to juvenile court and transported to the Youth Emergency Services Center in Cherokee.