Man who thought phony Facebook page belonged to 11-year-old faces sex charge
LANCASTER, Ohio (WCMH) – A Fairfield County man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly attempting to meet an 11-year-old girl and admitting his intention of impregnating her.
According to court documents, Lancaster police officers were called to an apartment of 1400 block of Sheridan Drive, north of the city, on reports of a sexual abuse. Arriving officers met with a man who leads a nonprofit called Bikers Against Predators.
The man who called police said that the nonprofit creates decoy Facebook accounts of underage individuals in an effort to lure potential suspects into soliciting sexual activity or pornographic material. In this case, the man told police that Gary Lee Skinner Jr. contacted the decoy Facebook account and lives at the residence on Sheridan Drive.
Members of Bikers Against Predators followed Skinner Jr. from a nearby gas station, where he allegedly attempted to meet with a girl as part of the group’s setup. The group of people asked Skinner Jr. questions, but he refused to talk.
The group provided police documentation showing how Skinner Jr. first attempted to contact their decoy 11-year-old girl. Though Skinner Jr. denied this detail, he admitted to police that he knew the decoy he was supposed to meet was underage.
Other admissions Skinner made to police were consistent with what the group told police, including that Skinner’s intent upon meeting the girl was to impregnate her that evening.
Skinner was arrested and charged with importuning, a fourth-degree felony.