German teacher flew to US to meet Brentwood teen for sex, prosecutors say

A German elementary school teacher was charged with traveling with intent to engage in illegal sexual conduct on Wednesday after he came to the U.S. to stay in a Brentwood hotel and abuse a 15-year-old girl he met online.

Adam Soboll was arrested on Sunday following a police interview where he allegedly admitted to having sex with the girl on multiple occasions, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.

Police in Brentwood first learned of the contact Sunday. The girl's mother reported to police that her daughter had been staying in a hotel with a man she believed to be around 30 years old, Contra Costa County District Attorney's inspector Daryl Holcombe wrote in an affidavit.

The girl had told her mother that she was going to the mall every day after school since the beginning of August, the mother told investigators. She thought her daughter was spending time with friends and  weekend nights at a friend's house.

But after looking in the girl's backpack, her mother found photos of her and an adult man and evidence that the two had been having sex.

The girl told police she'd met the man on Snapchat last year. He lived in Germany but told her that he was considering traveling to the U.S. and came to Brentwood to see her. The girl told police that Soboll was her boyfriend, according to the complaint.

Police went to the hotel room where Soboll had been staying and Soboll answered the door. He agreed to be interviewed and said he was a fifth-grade teacher in Germany and had been visiting the U.S. for about three and a half weeks.  

According to the affidavit, Soboll admitted to meeting her online, sending her photos of his penis, and having sexual relations with her in the hotel room. Police arrested him at the end of the interview.

Soboll was charged in U.S. District Court in Oakland with the single count of traveling to engage in illegal sexual conduct, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison. He remains in custody without bail.