Sting Catches NJ Man Looking For Sex With RI 14-Year-Old: Police

PROVIDENCE, RI — A New Jersey man was arrested over the weekend and charged after police say he came to Rhode Island to have sex with someone he believed to be a 14 year-old-girl. Amish Jayant Patel, 47, of Swedesboro, NJ, was charged through a criminal complaint with enticement and travel in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman, Rhode Island State Police and Homeland Security, Patel spoke with someone he believed to be a ninth-grader from Rhode Island, for nearly a month before his arrest. The "girl" was actually a Rhode Island State Police Detective working for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Patel sent sexually explicit photos and said he would buy alcohol for them to share when they met Sunday to have sex.

When Patel landed at T.F. Green airport, he was followed by undercover officers, the officials said. After leaving the airport, he went to a liquor store, where he bought alcohol before heading to the pre-arranged meeting spot, where he was arrested.

On Monday, Patel appeared in U.S. District Court in Providence, where he was ordered held and charged.