Man accused of trying to lure teen
A Fredericktown man was arrested Monday by Southwest Regional police after they said he was caught trying to meet up with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl he met on Craigslist.
Donald Edward Duricic, 28, of 1619 Morey Road, was taken into custody after meeting with an undercover police officer posing as the girl at Belle Vernon Borough Park in Belle Vernon, Fayette County.
Police Chief John Hartman said that members of his vice unit routinely check Craigslist and other social media sites, such as Facebook.
On Saturday, Detective Stephen Schwartz viewed an ad in the “casual encounters” section of Craigslist. The author indicated he “loved younger women” and offered to host or pick up the young woman.
Schwartz, posting as a 15-year-old girl, contacted the author, later identified as Duricic.
During the online conversation, Duricic indicated that his fantasy was to have sex with girls under the age of 18. He went on to describe different sex acts, police said.
Duricic made arrangements to meet the 15-year-old at the park and indicated he wold be driving a silver Hyundai Elantra.
On Monday morning, he met the undercover officer posing as the 15-year-old girl. He spoke with her for several minutes and showed her a condom he brought with him to the meeting. He was then taken into custody be the chief and members of the vice unit.
“It went down flawlessly,” Hartman said.
Duricic told police that he sent the emails from both his cellphone and computer. He also admitted to wanting to have sex with a 15-year-old girl.
“People have to realize that this happens here, not just on television or in New York or North Dakota,” Hartman said. “We plan on continuing this avenue of investigation.
“Parents have to realize how easy it is for their kids to get on and navigate the cyberhighway,” he added. “What if this had been a real kid? That’s the moral of the story. It would have been so easy to talk her into his car or snatch her. It is dangerous.”
Hartman said the investigation was coordinated with the Fayette County district attorney’s office.
Duricic was arraigned before District Judge Jesse Cramer on three counts of unlawful contact with a minor. He was released from the Fayette County jail Monday after posting $40,000 bond.