A month after two Granville police officers learned how to conduct undercover operations against internet predators, two men who allegedly planned to meet minors for sex were arrested.
“What happened is we’ve been conducting undercover chat operations,” Chief Craig Corkrean said.
Nolan Thomas Mowad, 23, of Alquippa, Pa., and James Lee Metz, 48, of Fairmont, were both charged with solicitation of a minor via a computer on Saturday by the Granville Police Department.
Both men used dating apps and believed they were talking to underage girls, according to criminal complaints. Mowad thought he was talking to a 15-year-old and Metz a 14-year-old. Both were actually speaking to undercover officers.
Both chats through the dating apps were sexual in nature and Mowad initiated the conversation with a picture of his genitalia, criminal complaints state.
Officers arranged a meet up with each man and when they arrived in Granville on Saturday they were arrested. Metz had condoms in his car when he was arrested.
Corkrean said two of his officers traveled to Virginia in June for a training session put on by the Internet Crimes Against Children task force where they learned to conduct these kinds of operations. Granville Police Department is an ICAC affiliate.
Saturday’s arrests were the first successes to come from that training and similar undercover operations will be always be going on, Corkrean said.
“It’s something we’re always going to do in our downtime,” he said.
Both men were arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court on Sunday. Magistrate Jim Nabors on who set bond at $10,000 each. Mowad’s bond was posted while Metz remained in North Central Regional Jail as of Monday afternoon.
