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Internet sex sting leads to arrest
A Largo man is the third in a week charged with soliciting a minor for sex.He thought he was messaging a young girl, authorities say.
By JACOB H. FRIES
Published June 30, 2006
LARGO - For the third time in a week, Pinellas County sheriff's detectives have arrested a man who they say tried to use the Internet to arrange a sexual liaison with a minor. Eric Van Domelen, 27, of Largo was taken into custody Wednesday night after arriving for what he thought was to be a sexual rendezvous with a child under 16, sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner said. Van Domelen had initiated a casual Internet conversation with an undercover detective on Monday, and the topic turned to sex. Van Domelen sent an explicit photograph of himself and suggested a meeting, Bordner said. "We've really taken a proactive approach to these type of Internet-based crimes," Bordner said. Van Domelen is accused of transmitting material harmful to minors and trying to use a computer to seduce a child. He posted $10,000 bail and was released from Pinellas County Jail early Thursday. Last week, two men, one from Clearwater and the other from New Port Richey, were arrested under similar circumstances, sheriff's officials said. Sureshbhai Darji, 35, of Clearwater and James Edward Ballweg III, 38, of New Port Richey had both traded messages with an undercover detective from the Sheriff's Office's crimes against children unit, officials said. As in the most recent case, the men began a conversation casually and eventually suggested a meeting to have sex, sheriff's officials said.
[Last modified June 29, 2006, 23:57:16]
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