A man with connections to Westmoreland and Indiana counties was arrested in Jefferson County for sending sexual messages to someone he thought was a teenage girl.
31-year-old Ryan Gabelli, who according to court documents has an address in Blairsville, was sending messages to someone he thought was a fifteen-year-old, but in reality, he was sending the messages to a representative of 814 Pred Hunters, a group that is dedicated to exposing online predators. He had arranged a meeting with the girl on Friday near Punxsutawney, and that was when he was arrested by state police. He reportedly admitted to police that he should not have met the girl, but said they were meeting to just hang out.
Gabelli is now in Jefferson County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. He faces charges of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with someone under 16, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, and other crimes. A preliminary hearing is set for June 26th.
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