Men face importuning charge
3 arrested for trying to meet cop posing as teen
By Gina Mace
Beacon Journal staff writer
MEDINA - Three men who thought they had arranged daytime sexual encounters with a 15-year-old girl were greeted instead by investigators, said the Medina County Sheriff's Office.
Jason Potts, 24, of Cleveland, Corey Bradach, 26, of Middleburg Heights, and Thomas Ashby, 46, of Pennsylvania, were arrested this week in separate incidents. Each faces one count of importuning.
Sheriff's 1st Sgt. Gary Hubbard said he was posing as a 15-year-old girl when he was approached by the men in instant messages between Dec. 15 and Dec. 27.
Ashby, who was arrested Friday, brought along sex toys, thongs and bikini panties for his meeting, Hubbard said. ``He already had reserved a local hotel room.''
Ashby told detectives he recently was arrested in the same sort of sting operation in Pennsylvania. He told detectives he is self-employed as a consultant for a company in Italy and travels frequently, Hubbard said.
On Dec. 15, Bradach posed as an 18-year-old woman in his first instant message to Hubbard, who was posing as a 15-year-old girl. ``I haven't had a guy pose as a woman'' previously, said Hubbard, who has supervised the Internet crimes division of the sheriff's department since its inception in August 2004.
Hubbard said Bradach offered to set up the ``girl'' with an older man. Bradach signed off as the woman and returned under a male screen name and arranged to meet the ``girl'' in person, Hubbard said.
Hubbard said all three men sent pictures to the ``girl,'' but only Ashby sent pornography. The computers of all three men have been confiscated so that they can be searched for possible evidence of other crimes, Hubbard said.
Bradach, who was arrested Thursday and Potts, who was arrested Wednesday, are free on bond. Ashby remains in the Medina County Jail and is scheduled to appear in Medina Municipal Court on Jan. 3.
*** Tsk tsk tsk. People pretending to be girls on the internet?!?! People setting up hook ups with underagers?!?! What is the world coming to?!?! Several years ago I was friends with this guy who spent about 16 hours a day on the computer and he collected thousands of pictures from websites and people he talked to. If he ever got in conversation with a girl (poser) who sent him a fake picture he would send them back several more from the same set. It was HILLARIOUS!!!!