An Arizona teenager accused of being a sexual predator was arrested for the second time on Thursday, KTAR-TV reported.
Tyler Kost, 18, was detained again after new allegations surfaced -- totaling to 18 victims so far. He now faces 25 new charges.
"This is a serious and serial sex offender and rapist," Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said at a news conference on Friday morning.
Kost, a student at Poston Butte High School, was first arrested on Monday on suspicion of two counts of sexual assault and released on $10,000 bond.
"Detectives knew the community was in danger and worked around the clock investigating all of the sex crime cases, including five additional cases which were reported after this case originally aired by the media," Pinal County Sheriff's Office Spokesman Tim Gaffney said in a news release.
Though the County Attorney's Office initially asked for bond to be raised to $100,000, they are now asking that Kost be held without bond, KTAR-TV said. According to the office, the teen allegedly threatened to kill victims and witnesses.
One victim reportedly became suicidal, a few left the high school, and others even left the state, AZFamily.com reported.
Kost will make his first appearance in front of a judge for his new counts on Friday at 10 a.m.
Babeu said there are at least 18 victims -- including one 13-year-old girl -- but believe there are more.
"As recent as from February to the present, there were five incidents alone with three separate victims," Babeu said.
He added that all of the victims are minors.
"In every one of these incidents that we're aware of at this point, Tyler was somebody who was known, who was befriended, who was trusted by not only the victims, but by the families," Babeu said. "He was, from all of the accounts of the victims, somebody who was highly manipulative, very charismatic and charming ... and then things obviously turned."
An investigation into Kost began in March after a student contacted Babeu.
"That's how we learned of this and then it just started to spiderweb in many directions," he said. "The initial report said there were five potential victims. That rapidly expanded."
