TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Police have arrested a 72-year-old Georgia man in Tallahassee after they said he responded to a fake ad, thinking that he was talking to a 14-year-old girl.
Tallahassee Police said that Willie Eugene Dean was arrested as part of Operation Cupid's Arrow, an undercover operation hosted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, on Sunday.
According to a probable cause document, investigators first made contact with Dean in the beginning of February.
The document said that he responded to an fake advertisement on a website. They said that based on the ad, the user was directed to contact "the child" at an undercover email address. It was also clear that "the child" users were communicating with was a 14-year-old female child.
Dean reached out on the ad, sending several messages before a response was sent on February 23. When asked for his age, Dean lied, saying that he was 34.
On the same date, Dean was sent a response stating that he was talking to a 14-year-old. He responded that he didn't have a problem with it.
Over February and March, Dean continued communication with "the child."
On March 8, Dean discussed traveling to Tallahassee on March 11 to meet with "the child", telling her that she would need to be away from home for three or four hours.
On March 11, Dean told "the child" that he had arrived in town but was nervous he was going to be contacted by law enforcement. Further communication revealed that Dean had not actually arrived in Tallahassee due to being nervous, but indicated that he could travel to meet "the child" on another day.
Communication continued until Dean agreed to meet "the child" on Saturday (March 25). Through text messages, he said that he had arrived around 3:30 p.m., stating that he was at the Wal-Mart on North Monroe Street.
Later in the evening, Dean was told that "the child" was leaving him to meet and would be at the Burger King on North Monroe Street.
When police arrived, they saw Dean standing at the front of the restaurant looking around as if anticipating someone.
Dean was arrested and faces charges related to soliciting minors online.
