Man Used Internet to Solicit Sex, Police Say

A Pennsylvania man was arrested on suspicion of using the Internet to solicit sex with an undercover investigator and a fictitious 12-year-old boy, authorities said Wednesday.

The investigator, who works on child molestation and pornography cases, had been surfing the Net when he stumbled upon a chat room with “a very suggestive, explicit name,” Police Lt. Dan Johnson said.

The detective, whose name was not released because he works undercover, met Edward Rodriguez, 39, of Allentown, Pa., in the chat room on Sept. 27, police said.

“They exchanged phone numbers and chatted several times after that,” Johnson said. Rodriguez wanted “to fly to Orange County to engage in a homosexual relationship with the detective and his fictitious 12-year-old son.”

Rodriguez arrived at a Huntington Beach hotel on Monday and was arrested the next day on suspicion of soliciting a child to commit a lewd act and child molestation, Johnson said. Rodriguez is being held at Huntington Beach City Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today in Municipal Court in Westminster.

Detectives said the case is among the first few in the city involving illegal sex solicitation on the Internet. The investigation is continuing and police are trying to determine whether others have been victimized.

“We’re doing this type of investigation more and more,” Johnson said. “It seems to be a growing problem.”