HAVRE DE GRACE 鈥 A 72-year-old Rising Sun man remained jailed on Tuesday after undercover investigators arrested him when he arrived at a Havre de Grace residence 鈥 with the alleged intent to have sex with a 14-year-old girl with whom he had made online arrangements, according to the Harford County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and court records.
But the suspect 鈥 Charles R. Schmidt 鈥 actually had been interacting on social media with a covert HCSO detective posing as 鈥淐ourtney,鈥 a fictitious girl, when he explicitly and crudely listed several sex acts he wanted to have with her, Harford County District Court records allege. Schmidt made those graphic sex requests, even after acknowledging that Courtney is a minor and that he is 鈥58 years older鈥 than she is, the lead investigator noted in the charging document.
When Schmidt entered the rendezvous residence on Bourbon Street at approximately 4 p.m. on Sept. 30, after arriving there in a silver 2104 Chevrolet Equinox and possessing an alcoholic beverage that he promised to bring Courtney, law enforcement officers 鈥減romptly arrested鈥 him, according to court records and HCSO Sheriff Jeff Gahler.
The sheriff reported that Schmidt is one of nine men who were arrested and charged during a month-long sting operation that HCSO detectives conducted in partnership with 鈥渘ationally recognized journalist鈥 Chris Hansen, who is known for his Dateline NBC reality show 鈥淭o Catch A Predator鈥 and his similar follow-up program, 鈥淭akedown with Chris Hansen.鈥
Those nine residents, who are residents of Virginia, Pennsylvania and various parts of Maryland, 鈥渢raveled to Harford County or planned to travel to Harford County鈥 to have sex with underage boys or girls they had met and communicated with online 鈥 unaware that they actually had been interacting with covert detectives pretending to be those minors.
鈥淚 have come to call them 鈥楾he Nasty Nine鈥,鈥 Gahler commented on a video posted Monday on the agency鈥檚 Facebook page, after remarking in that footage, 鈥淭hese people are criminal pedophile predators.鈥
One of the suspects who was arrested during the operation owns two child care centers in Pennsylvania and another is a lawyer in Virginia, according to Gahler.
Speaking specifically about the allegations against the suspect who lives in Rising Sun, Gahler reported that Schmidt 鈥渟topped at a local store to buy condoms and alcohol, to wash down his Viagra鈥 when making the trip from Cecil County to the rendezvous residence in Havre de Grace to have sex with whom he believed was a 14-year-old girl.
(Communicating online as the fictitious Courtney, the investigator had told Schmidt that she would be dog-sitting at that residence and instructed him to enter the dwelling through the back door, the charging document indicates.)
Also during that HCSO Facebook video, after reporting that Schmidt is 72, Gahler qualified, 鈥淵ou heard me right 鈥 72.鈥
Schmidt is charged with sexual solicitation of a minor, which is a felony that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 fine if convicted, according to court records.
He remained in the Harford County Detention Center on no bond Tuesday, awaiting his Jan. 23 trial, court records show.
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