Police: Fake Craigslist Ad Snares Alleged Sex Offender

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Image: Walter Sargent (MCPD)

An Arlington man who responded to a fake Craiglist ad is facing criminal charges for trying to arrange a sexual liaison with a minor, according to the Manassas police.

Police investigators arrested Walter Sargent, 48, of 1401 N. Rhodes St. #304, on May 14, the city police said in a statement released Friday evening. He was charged with use of a communications device to facilitate certain offenses involving children and attempted forcible sodomy.

Sargent is being held without bond in jail and has a pending court date of June 11 in Prince William General District Court.

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His apprehension was the second such arrest made by Manassas police as part of Operation Broken Heart, an effort targeting sexual predators and traffickers during April and May that involves local, state and federal authorities, the city police said. They worked with the Northern Virginia-District of Columbia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The investigators identified Sargent as a suspect after he responded to an advertisement posted by an undercover detective on April 29 on Craigslist, about having sexual relations with a fictitious 12-year-old boy, the city police said. The ad sought individuals who were willing to travel to Manassas to have sexual contact with juveniles.

The investigators obtained a warrant and conducted a search of Sargent’s residence at about 5:30 a.m. May 14. He was taken into custody without incident.