In a now-deleted Instagram post, rapper Kodak Black weighs in on a viral story about a 61-year-old man with his 18-year-old goddaughter.
Kodak said, “SMH my daddy did this same sh–! Left us to start another family with his goddaughter, I was about 9. But I ain’t judging nobody. To each’s own. It could be true love.”
However, his followers had mixed reactions, with some of his fans quickly swarming Kodak’s comments wanting to know more details, while others slammed the rapper for normalizing a suspected instance of grooming.
The man in the viral news story, Michael Haugabook trended after he married his Goddaughter, Deja, shortly after she turned 18.
Michael, a father with multiple children, was a part of Deja’s life right from when she was born and is seen in one photo carrying her when she was a toddler.
Michael also reportedly dated Deja’s mother, Davina Evans, in the past. When Deja went missing in 2017, he’s also seen begging people on Facebook to help find her.
While Deja was still 17, she posted that she was in a relationship but people didn’t know who she was dating. When she turned 18, she posted that she was dating Michael, her Godfather.
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She recently got married to Michael, causing people to believe Michael has been grooming and dating the teen then waited until she was of legal age to marry her.
The age difference caused outrage and also the fact that he’s her Godfather. Most people thought he was 55 and they asked why a man that old will marry an 18-year-old.
However, a document from when Michael was arrested in 2014 shows he was 54 at the time, meaning he’s 61 now.
However, the couple has told people to mind their business.
According to the organization Darkness to Light, Child grooming is defined as a deliberate process by which offenders gradually initiate and maintain sexual relationships with victims in secrecy.
Grooming allows offenders to slowly overcome natural boundaries long before sexual abuse occurs. On the surface, grooming a child can look like a close relationship between the offending adult, the targeted child, and (potentially) the child’s caregivers.
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