OREM, Utah, Dec. 17, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — An Orem man was arrested after he allegedly arranged to meet an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl in a Lehi park.
A probable cause statement from Utah County said Nicholas James Killian, 19, is charged with enticing a minor by Internet or text, a second-degree felony.
From March 29, 2019 until Dec. 5, 2019, an agent from the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force was working undercover online, the arresting officer wrote in the probable cause statement.
“My undercover persona was that of a 13-year-old female,” the arresting officer wrote. “I received a private message on an online chat application from a user with the user name Nick Killian. I engaged in a conversation with this individual who exchanged pictures with me. During the conversation I told the suspect that I was 13 years old.”
On Dec. 5, the suspect arranged to meet with what he believed to be the 13-year-old female for the purpose of having sex, the statement said. The suspect also said that he would provide marijuana.
“We made arrangements to meet at a park in Lehi,” the statement said. “The suspect advised he was on his way to the park in an Uber. He advised that the Uber was a silver Nissan Altima. Agents were conducting surveillance in the area of the park and observed a silver Nissan Altima drive into the parking lot.”
The arresting officer then received a message from the suspect that he was at the park. Agents made contact with the passenger in the Uber who was identified as Killian. The suspect matched the pictures that had been sent during the conversation.
The arresting officer also allegedly send a message from his account to the suspect and observed it coming up on the suspect’s phone, the statement said.
Killian was taken into custody and transported to the Lehi Police Department to be interviewed. The suspect was advised of his Miranda rights and chose not to speak with officers. He was then transported to the Utah County Jail with his bail set at $10,000.
