PUNXSUTAWNEY – An out-of-state man has been arrested after he was caught driving to Jefferson County with intentions of meeting a teen girl for sex.
According to court documents, 56-year-old David Patterson of Carterville, Missouri, thought he would be meeting a 15-year-old girl when he drove to Punxsutawney on Thursday. Patterson had actually been communicating with, and arranged the meeting with a decoy from the 814 Pred Hunters child protection group.
814 Pred Hunters provided the Punxsutawney Borough Police with sexually explicit messages between Patterson and their decoy, and the arrest was made in a parking lot Thursday morning.
Patterson is facing charges of attempted sexual and indecent assault and corruption of minors.
He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail with bail set at $200,000, and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
Never miss out on local news. Sign up below for Tri-County Insider News:
