Man Arrested in Online Teen Sex Solicitation Case

A three-month Internet investigation led to the Friday night arrest of a man who allegedly conspired to have sex with an undercover police detective who posed online as a 13-year-old boy, authorities said.

Mark Handel, 39 of Washington, D.C., was arrested at 6:15 p.m. in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in the 6800 block of Warner Avenue on suspicion of soliciting and attempting to commit a lewd act with a child under 14, Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Mike Willett said.

Handel apparently first made contact with the undercover officer, who was secretly monitoring the service for illegal activity, in early December. The officer identified himself as a 13-year-old boy, Willett said.

The two kept in touch by electronic mail and arranged to meet Friday in Huntington Beach for what Handel presumed would be a sexual relationship, Willett said. Handel reportedly told the detective he was flying to Orange County for a meeting of the American Meteorological Society and would arrange for a hotel room where the two could meet and have sex.

“Handel communicated with the undercover detective and expressed interest in homosexual relationships with teenage boys,” Willett said. “When Handel arrived in Southern California, he again contacted the detective and a meeting location was agreed upon.”

Handel was met in the parking lot by police officers, who arrested him and booked him into Huntington Beach City Jail. He was being held Saturday in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Department officers have used the Internet at least three times in the past to arrest sex offenders before they strike, said Huntington Beach Police Lt. Jon Arnold.

“Our detectives oversee [the chat rooms] and actually use the Internet to capture these individuals before they make contact with an actual kid,” Arnold said.