BOUNTIFUL, April 26, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A man was arrested Thursday in the parking lot of a Bountiful church after officials say he made arrangements to meet and have sex with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.
Thomas Gerald Porter, 27, was taken into custody and booked into the Davis County Jail on suspicion of enticing a minor by Internet or text, a second-degree felony; and dealing in materials harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony.
According to a probable cause statement, Porter had been chatting on an ap with an undercover agent of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. The agent’s profile was that of a 13-year-old girl. Porter’s screen name was “BeingdaPerv,” the statement says.
Porter sent a photo of his genitals and “made arrangements to meet for the purpose of having sex,” the probable cause statement says. “The meeting was arranged to take place at the LDS church located at approximately 2200 S. and 200 West in Bountiful.”
Waiting agents observed a black SUV park behind the church.
“The undercover agent then received a message on the chat application from the suspect that said he was at the meet location and asked if she could see the black SUV. Law enforcement agents then approached the vehicle and confirmed that the driver matched the face photo that had been sent during the chat conversation.”
Porter was transported to the Davis County Attorney’s Office for an interview. Post Miranda, the statement says, “Thomas admitted that his screen name was ‘BeingdaPerv’ and that he had chatted with the minor female.
“He said that he had sent a message to the underage female describing the sex acts that he wanted to do, but said that he would not have done them if the girl had shown up.”
Porter’s bail was set at $10,000, which was paid.
