A Louisiana man was arrested when he allegedly drove for an hour to engage in sex with a 14-year-old girl who ended up being an undercover officer.
“Special Agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, posing as an underaged girl, started an online conversation with 38-year-old Trenton Thomas of New Orleans Tuesday evening,” WBRZ reported Thursday.
Arrest papers noted the man responded to a photo shared on the fake account and inquired if the minor lived far away and whether she wanted to “cuddle.”
Each year, thousands of children become victims of crimes including sexual abuse or online predators, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) website.
Prior to the trip, Thomas allegedly explained to the undercover officer that “I guess mostly I’m worried you’re law enforcement.”
It was not long before he again inquired if the teenager was truly an undercover officer. Thomas apparently chose to embark on the journey and told the agent he would be driving to Baton Rouge.
“Around an hour later, authorities saw a white Kia pull into a parking lot on Highland Road at the same time Thomas sent a message saying he had arrived at their meetup location in a white car,” the WBRZ report stated.
The man said he was going back onto the roadway the moment the Kia exited the parking lot.
An agent was able to pull Thomas over and located three unused condoms inside his pocket. A fourth was located in the man’s wallet.
Thomas was eventually booked at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison regarding one count of “computer-aided solicitation of a minor and one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile,” the WBRZ article read.
The Internet offers criminals a simple way to contact young people, and the FBI often sees crimes against children start once an adult creates a relationship with a victim online, then plans to meet and abuse the child.