Police in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, have arrested 23-year-old Gerald Thomas Brennan III, a resident of Royersford, for allegedly soliciting sex from a teenage boy he met via MySpace.com. Earlier this week, police asked for help from the public in determining whether Brennan had used the Internet to contact other teens. Since then, I have uncovered several other accounts Brennan had on the Internet.
According to Lancaster City Police, Brennan had two profiles on the popular social networking Web site, on which he identified himself as a 16-year-old boy. Using the screen names "jerry122829" and "swimmer2532," Brennan allegedly solicited sex acts from a 14-year-old boy from the Lancaster area. Police say Brennan engaged in conversations with the teen via MySpace, e-mail, and telephone. Brennan also allegedly used a computer to send a nude photo of himself to the teen and then made arrangements to meet for sex.
In January, the teen's parents contacted police and told them their son had been solicited for sex on the Internet. Lancaster City Police, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Pennsylvania State Police Area Computer Crimes Task Force, and the Lancaster County District Attorney's Child Abuse Unit, were able to identify Brennan and made arrangements for him to meet the teen at a shopping plaza.
When Brennan showed up for the meeting, he was arrested on felony charges of unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communication facility, attempted statutory sexual assault, and attempted involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. He was also charged with four misdemeanor counts of corruption of a minor, open lewdness, attempted indecent assault, and solicitation of indecent assault.
