Internet Sting Nets Man Who Allegedly Planned Sex With Boy

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

Mark Handel, 39, of Washington, D.C., was arrested Friday evening in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in Huntington Beach 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 in lieu of $100,000 bail.