GREENE CO., OHIO Fowler man faces sex charge in sting

The arrest is part of a larger sting that since last year has netted 18 arrests.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
FOWLER -- A township man is expected to be indicted this week by a Greene County, Ohio, grand jury after his arrest in Xenia on a charge of trying to have sex with a minor girl.
Police in Xenia, a city of about 27,000, 15 miles east of Dayton, said Gene Carr, 48, of Warner Road, was arrested last Thursday and charged with one count of attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, punishable by up to 18 months in jail.
Xenia Detective Darrin Barlow said this morning that Carr is free on $5,000 bond and, if indicted, will appear in court, likely in the next few weeks.
Police said he was arrested after traveling to a Xenia department store where he expected to meet a 14-year-old girl with whom he had exchanged pictures via the Internet.
Part of sting: What Carr didn't know is that he was to be the 18th person arrested in the past year by Xenia authorities as part of an ongoing sting operation, Barlow said.
Carr sent the girl nude photos of himself and police sent him a picture of a clothed girl, authorities said.
The picture was of a female police detective who said this morning she offered the photo of herself at 14 to help in the sting. She did not wish to be identified.
Authorities said they began investigating Carr on March 17 after he made his first online contact with a girl, whom he believed to be a minor.
Barlow said the girl's online profile included her age and that Carr knew she was 14.
"They talked about school; he was well aware she was a juvenile," he added.
Barlow said a few of the department's 48 officers have been assigned to the sting, which has resulted in more than 370 child pornography cases, some of which have already been prosecuted.
"We don't do this full time," he said, but explained the sting has been successful in busting people who lure children for sex. "We've had arrests from as far away as Texas."
Fowler Township Clerk Diane Carpenter confirmed this morning that Carr is a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician in the township. She did not know if Carr has full-time employment elsewhere.