Pottstown Man Solicited Sex With Minor On Internet, Tried To Meet At Providence Town Center: DA

POTTSTOWN, PA — A Pottstown man attempted to meet up with who he thought was a 14-year-old boy for a sexual encounter at the Providence Town Center, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Authorities have charged Ian Jalbert, 46, with felony unlawful contact with a minor and related counts.

Upper Providence Police said an undercover investigation led them to Jalbert after he responded to a Craigslist advertisement which an officer had posed as a 14-year-old boy, the DA said.

Jalbert initially responded to the ad on April 28, and over the following week he continued to communicate with the officer posing undercover, sending emails and texts back and forth despite the officer repeatedly saying he was only 14, officials said. Many of the messages from Jalbert were sexually explicit, including a nude photograph of himself.

The undercover officer agreed to meet Jalbert at the Providence Town Center "to engage in sexual acts," the DA said, on May 3. Jalbert arrived at about 10 a.m. and was promptly taken into custody.

He was arraigned on May 4 and bail was set at $50,000. A preliminary hearing is set for May 16.

Assistant District Attorney James Price will prosecute the case.

Image via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office