Man nabbed in Internet sex case

Aug 9, 2007

Investigators arrested a Pennsylvania man on Wednesday, accusing him of arranging to meet a child for sex.

Lonnie R. Kerestes, 32, of Coaldale, Pa., faces felony counts of attempted unlawful sex with a minor and importuning. A $100,000 bond was set in Massillon Municipal Court.

Kerestes was taken into custody by the FBI Internet Crimes Task Force about 9:40 a.m. Wednesday at the food court in Westfield Belden Village mall in Jackson Township, police said.

Kerestes is a mechanic for the U.S. Department of Defense, working out of the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Tobyhanna, Pa.

Bobby Grizzard, a Massillon police detective and task force member, said Kerestes drove from his home to the mall expecting to meet a 14-year-old girl whom he solicited online for sex. The target was not a girl but an undercover officer.

Grizzard said federal charges are expected because the crime crossed state boundary lines.