PARKERSBURG, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An Ohio man faces charges after making the trip to Parkersburg, WV with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with who he believed to be a 15-year-old female juvenile.
According to the Parkersburg Police Department, an investigation into Christopher Allen Payton, 33 of Marietta, Ohio began in January 2023. Payton had begun using a social media platform to chat with a Parkersburg Police Department investigator whom he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.
Over the course of these interactions, Payton expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with the juvenile female, and also sent multiple pictures of his face and three pictures of his genitalia to the purported female.
Payton would eventually travel to a Parkersburg location with the intention of meeting the juvenile to engage in sexual activities.
On Tuesday, January 17, 2023, Payton was taken into custody by the Parkersburg Police Department and processed for one count of soliciting a minor via computer. He was then arraigned in Wood County Magistrate Court where his bond was set at $35,000. Payton failed to post bond and was placed in the North Central Regional Jail.
Those with information regarding cases of child exploitation are encouraged to contact local law enforcement or report via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Cyber Tip Line.
Additional child exploitation investigations recently conducted by the Parkersburg Police Department can be found here.