A 24-year-old man from Gibsonia, Allegheny County, Adam Lee Carey, was arrested earlier this week after he came to Tyrone in an alleged attempt to meet a person for sex whom he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller said Carey posted bail yesterday and had additional conditions placed on him.
Carey allegedly came to Tyrone on Tuesday after conversations in an internet chat room with a person using the screen name “i am sweet tara.” In reality, “sweet tara” was Tyrone Borough Councilman William Latchford.
According to a police criminal complaint, Latchford created an on-line persona of a 13-year-old and Carey allegedly engaged in conversations with “sweet tara” over the internet that included graphic and sexual references.
Latchford told police about the chat room conversations, which allegedly happened on Sunday and he turned over a log of the conversations. He also informed police about a planned meeting at the Pizza Hut in Tyrone. Carey provided a description of the car he would be driving in the message and set up a meeting time at the restaurant.
An additional message regarding the meeting was sent to Latchford and he turned the information over to police at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Officers went to the Pizza Hut in an unmarked car about 6 p.m. Police observed a car fitting the description of the one Carey said he would be using in a parking lot near the Pizza Hut.
A felony traffic stop was conducted and Carey was taken into custody and given his rights. According to the police complaint, he admitted he had come to Tyrone to have sex with a 13-year-old girl named “Tara”. He said his on-line conversations had “gotten out of hand”. Police said he started to cry and told them he needed help. A search of his vehicle turned up a box of condoms bought on Tuesday in Butler and a large knife/axe.
Latchford released a statement to The Daily Herald about why he participated in the effort to catch child predators who use the internet in an attempt to meet young people for sex.
Latchford said, “After watching the NBC Dateline series ‘To Catch A Predator’ and viewing the content located at Perverted-Justice.com, I felt a need to show people in our town that our children were not safe from this particular crime.
“No small town is,” said Latchford. “I noticed the professionalism of the people at Perverted-Justice.com and how they performed their jobs. These people go through some pretty grueling chats to catch these predators that prey on the youth in these chat rooms. I now know first hand that the danger is out there…”
He added he hoped others citizens would recognize the danger the internet presents to young people.
“When cyberspace meets the real world in these cases in my opinion only tragedy can come of it,” said Latchford. “With the cooperation of The Tyrone Borough Police Department a 13-year-old Tyrone girl was spared this tragedy even if she were not real.
“ What we have to keep in mind is that there are real 12, 13, 14, 15 year-olds girls and boys finding themselves in terrible situations because these child predators have brought cyberspace to these kid\’s real world,” said Latchford.
The police criminal complaint filed against Carey explained that Latchford and Police Chief Joseph Beachem had talked about being proactive regarding internet child predators prior to Latchford creating his on-line persona.
Carey was charged with criminal use of a communication facility, attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted unlawful contact with a minor and attempted statutory sexual assault. All the crimes are felonies.
After his preliminary arraignment, Carey was placed in Blair County Prison on $75,000, 10 percent bail. Judge Miller said Carey posted $7,500 (the 10 percent) yesterday and was free on bail.
Judge Miller said that in addition to the normal conditions of bail, Carey can remain free provided he is not arrested on new charges, he can’t leave the state without court approval, he can’t use a computer or access an internet chat room in any other way and he is not allowed to be in the presence of a person under 18 unless an adult over the age of 18 is present.
Carey’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday morning.
