Ohio man jailed in North Strabane child task force sting
An Ohio man was jailed Aug. 31 for allegedly communicating online with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl from North Strabane Township.
According to court documents, Scott Deel, 58, of St. Clairsville, Belmont County, contacted the person he believed to be the girl Aug. 13 in a teen chatroom. The girl was actually a decoy created by North Strabane police Officer Gary Scherer, a member of the state Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Deel allegedly provided a cellphone number and email address and requested the girl contact him.
Deel allegedly sent several text messages and entered chatrooms with the girl. He discussed meeting in a hotel room, according to court documents.
Deel allegedly sent a photo of himself from his cellphone Aug. 18.
Scherer obtained search warrants for cable providers that indicated the accounts being used to contact the girl belonged to Deel.
On Aug. 31, Scherer and detectives from the Belmont County sheriff’s department executed a search warrant at Deel’s residence. Deel allegedly said he has been communicating with females online for about a year and that he used his cellphone and computer to contact minors.
He said he communicated with 50 to 100 females in that time and allegedly showed officers a photo of a naked minor on his phone.
Deel was placed in Belmont County jail on $5,000 bond. Charges of unlawful contact with a minor, solicitation of child pornography and possession of child pornography were filed Wednesday with District Judge Jay Weller.