An Ohio college student was arrested and charged with allegedly attempting to convince a 15-year-old boy to have sex with him by bribing the boy with an order of chicken Alfredo and a Sprite, authorities say.
Albert Maruna, IV, 22, a student at Youngstown University, was arrested after soliciting what he thought was a 15-year-old boy over a dating app. But it turned out that Maruna was texting with an undercover police officer in Austintown, Ohio.
The suspect was charged with “attempted unlawful sexual contact with a minor, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, possessing criminal tools, and importuning a child,” according to Fox 19.
Investigators say that after an introduction to what he thought was a minor, Maruna began texting sexually graphic messages and sending explicit photos of himself in the nude.
In some of the texts, the suspect exclaimed that he didn’t believe that age mattered for sexual encounters.
“Age is a number I believe. … I don’t believe in age. … I’m OK if you (sic) OK with me,” police say Maruna texted to his intended victim.
Eventually, the suspect arranged a meeting and promised to bring the boy some “lubricant, chicken Alfredo, and Sprite.”
Police also report that when he showed up for the meeting, Maruna did, indeed, have the items he promised to bring.
The suspect is being housed in the Mahoning County jail. He will face a preliminary hearing on January 3.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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