A 32-year-old cell-phone salesman in Arvada used a new number to send text messages to a 13-year-old girl and eventually to undercover investigators, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office said today.
Timothy Robert Shea faces an Internet luring charge, because he allegedly tried to arrange a meeting for sex, prosecutors said.
The teenager and her mother went into the store where Shea worked on Nov. 15, when Shea asked to send a text message to the girl to test her phone, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.
Shea allegedly sent another text to the girl on Nov. 18, which concerned the girl and her mother, who contacted authorities.
Texts between Shea and an undercover investigator led to his arrest Friday, when he arrived at the location where he expected to meet the girl.
Shea is free on $25,000 bond.
“The teen in this case did exactly what we teach in our Internet safety presentations: She told her mother.” District Attorney Scott Storey said in a statement. “Her mother also did the right thing. It’s very rewarding to know that our prevention efforts, in this case our Internet safety presentations, are making a difference in the community. But for everyone making good choices, this story could have had a very different ending.”
