Bucks man, accused of soliciting girl, in court

SCHWENKSVILLE, Pa. - June 2, 2011 (WPVI) -- A Bucks County man accused of soliciting a 12-year-old girl for sex appeared in court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing.

Police say 28-year-old Richard Whitehead of Sellersville, Pa. found his intended victim on Facebook. It started with this message on the 12-year-old's wall: "Hi, wats up ur cute."

Police say Whitehead then started sending text messages to her and a 12-year-old friend.

"They became sexual in nature and he eventually requested to meet her to engage in sexual activity," said Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman.

Police say Whitehead also sent a lewd photo of his anatomy to the girl and suggested they get together for sex. But the girl turned the tables.

"This was one brave little girl," said Cauffman. "As soon as the conversations began, essentially, and he wanted to hang out with her, she went to her mom. Her mom went to the police, and the investigation was begun. So she did a great job."

The girl continued to communicate with Whitehead, but only this time with county detective Drew Marino at her side.

According to the text messages in the criminal complaint, Whitehead tried to get the girl to meet him at Lenape Lake Park near his home in Sellersville. She agreed, but instead of the girl, Whitehead was greeted by undercover cops.

"He picked a very remote, wooded area," said Cauffman. "And he expressed a desire to take her to an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. And it was a very scary location, I'll tell you that."

Police say when Whitehead showed up at the park, they could see him texting something on his cell phone. They had the girl's phone, and a message showed up immediately, asking, "ru coming." He never got an answer and soon found out why.

Whitehead waived his right to a preliminary hearing today and was sent back to jail on $500,000 bail.

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child luring, child sex assault, bucks county, montgomery county, pennsylvania, crime

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