For sure. People like him are heartless. He purposely told her she looked like an adult in an attempt to flatter her and gain her trust. There is often A LOT of mental manipulation that goes on before a predator attempts anything physical especially when it comes to older minors.

I unfortunately lived a real life situation similar where I willingly got in the car with a predator when I was under age. I wasn’t attracted to him (he was much older than this character), but I thought he was my friend. He had been talking to me for a couple of years saying things that at the time I didn’t realize were brainwashing/the G word...I have trouble typing and saying the G word. But “you are so mature/much more mature than your friends” was among his many lines. So that scene made me sick.

But he waited til a weak moment to attempt more. He saw me run out of a friend’s house in tears shattered bc the boy I was head over heels for started making out with her. He asked me what was wrong (more ammo that he could use to manipulate me) and if I wanted to talk about it. So I have a feeling it’s similar with Kate. He waits til she’s heartbroken over something (probably her mom’s affair) and then she likely goes to talk to him willingly at his house not knowing he has sinister plans.

One thing I often tell my therapist is that shows rarely show the “before”/lead up when it comes to teenage survivors. So I really like that this show is doing that and giving awareness to that side of things.