Stratford Man Tried To Meet Teen For Sex, Officials Say

STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford man who works as a dentist in Trumbull faces numerous charges after officials said he sent sexually explicit images of himself to a person he believed was a teenage girl and made plans to meet the person for sex.

Scott David Cohen, 39, was arrested Friday and charged with enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transfer of obscene material to minors and sexual exploitation of children, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Cohen met the person, who he thought was a 15-year-old girl, earlier in October on Instagram, the news release said. Under the username drpinstripe13, he described in graphic detail his sexual interest in the girl and sent her explicit images, according to the news release.

When the girl told Cohen she lived out of state but had plans to travel to New York to visit a relative, Cohen said he was willing to reschedule patients at his dental practice in order to meet her, according to the news release. Cohen was arrested after going to the Stratford train station Friday to meet the girl and was held pending a detention hearing.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force and prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative.

To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.cybertipline.com.