(Cuyahoga County) - A Canadian from Toronto is charged with coming to the Cleveland area for a weekend of sex with a young girl.
In custody is 49 year old Joseph Haggerty, he was arrested at Linden Park in Rocky River after being tracked by Homeland Security.
Mike Tobin of the U.S. Attorney's Office says Haggerty had convinced a young female to send him nude, sexually explicit photos of herself, and came here with plans to take her to a Lakewood motel.
Tobin tells Newsradio WTAM 1100, Haggerty had a reservation at the Days Inn on Lake Avenue in Lakewood.
He was carrying a bag with clothing, 12 condoms, a stuffed animal and a package of baby pacifiers.
Investigators report that the minor Haggerty met in Rocky River told agents they first communicated on Kik in December 2016, and subsequently contacted each other via Skype.
She explained to officers the calls would last hours and Haggerty would direct her to strip naked and engage in sexually explicit conduct.
Police say the girl told her relatives she was going on a camping trip for the weekend but actually planned to go the Lakewood hotel with Haggerty.
Haggerty appeared in court Monday afternoon, and is charged with production of child pornography. He's being held without bond.
Homeland Security agents in Austin, Texas, had been following up on a tip that Haggerty had been soliciting nude images from children.
Authorities contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Internet Child Exploitation Unit, which executed search warrants at Haggerty's home.
They says they found nude images of the Ohio minor, contact information for a child in Texas, as well as evidence of an estimated five other potential victims.
(Photo by Ken Robinson/WTAM)
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