Authorities say a man who was arrested in connection with a sexual assault of a teenage girl in Pine County on Tuesday was a Facebook friend of the victim.

Investigators learned the man's name while interviewing the 17-year-old victim on Wednesday and then made an arrest, said Pine County Sheriff Jeff Nelson.

The girl told investigators that she and the 28-year-old man from Wyoming, Minn., were friends on the social media site but had never met in person.

The girl was in Robinson Park in Pine City around 9 p.m. Tuesday when the man showed up, even though they had not arranged to meet, Nelson said.

The man approached the girl as she was on the playground and asked her numerous times to get in his car. When she refused, the man removed her pants and assaulted her, authorities said.

On Wednesday, the suspect admitted to investigators that he came to Pine City to meet the victim and that he sexually assaulted her, Nelson said. He even said the victim tried to fight him off and yell for help, Nelson added.

The suspect is in the Pine County Jail. Charges are expected to be filed on Friday, the sheriff said.

The suspect has a prior conviction in January for fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct in Anoka County, along with several driving offenses, court records show.