Internet crimes unit wants Romanian predator

RUSSELLVILLE — Romanian police are searching for a man who is believed to have contacted a special needs 16-year-old female in Franklin County via the internet and allegedly started talking about meeting her to have sex.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Kyle Palmer, who is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said the teenager contacted the sheriff’s office in March about the messages she was receiving via the internet.

“They began chatting and that led to further conversations,” Palmer said. “He kept talking to her and began grooming her with the intentions of meeting her for sex.”

Upon further investigation of the conversations and recovering the IP address from where the man was contacting her, Palmer said the investigation pointed to a man in Romania.

Palmersaidhehasnotreceived the name of the person, or exactly what charges he is facing.

“As far as I know right now, Romanian police are searching for him and plan to arrest him,” Palmer said.