Man, 60, nabbed in teen-sex sting
July 19, 2007
Adapted from the Lancaster New Era
The 60-year-old man thought he had finally found what he was looking for, authorities say. A 13-year-old girl he'd been chatting with on the Web since May agreed to have sex with him and let him take pictures.
So he hopped in his minivan and drove to their agreed-upon meeting place, a new shopping mall, authorities say.
When he stepped out of his van, however, he met officers from the state attorney general's Child Predator Unit.
They charged him with two felony counts of unlawful contact with a minor, and one count of criminal use of a computer.
He was placed in prison in lieu of $75,000 bail.
The person with whom he allegedly had eight sexually explicit conversions via Yahoo! Messenger between was an undercover agent.
Authorities seized two computers, a Webcam and several storage disks from the man’s apartment. Computer forensics experts are expected to analyze them as part of the investigation.
He told authorities he currently worked as a material handler and that he had previously worked for 22 years in computer-aided design.
Using the name "surfingnetman," he allegedly began a 2½-month-long online relationship with a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl. That relationship escalated finally to his suggestion of a meeting for sex, authorities said.
The Child Predator Unit special agent charged the man with a first-degree felony count of unlawful contact with a minor, alleging the man sought to engage in involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. The offense is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
The second count of unlawful contact with a minor is a second-degree felony alleging he sought to engage in unlawful contact with a minor. It is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
The one count of criminal use of a computer is a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
He was one of two men arrested by the Child Predator Unit that day.
The special unit, designed to identify and capture predators before they harm children, is responsible for 83 arrests since January 2005. |
