(NORTH EAST, MD) – Maryland State Police arrested a man today on charges he solicited sex from an undercover trooper who was posing as a child over the Internet in Cecil County.

Fred Packard, 73, of Havre de Grace, Maryland, is charged with one count of sexual solicitation of a minor. He was taken to the MSP North East Barrack for processing.

According to a preliminary investigation, a trooper with the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit in December was monitoring an online dating application while posing as a 14-year-old male. Packard initiated an online conversation with the goal of soliciting a sexual encounter with the minor.

The suspect suggested meeting with whom he thought was the minor today in North East, Maryland. According to a preliminary investigation, Packard arrived at that location at about 1:45 p.m. Maryland State Police arrested the suspect at the scene.

The Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit coordinates the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. This is a combined law enforcement effort involving police departments across Maryland that is made possible in part due to grant funds provided by the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services and by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Task force investigators focus on identifying those involved in child pornography via the Internet and other related crimes that victimize children.

Fred Packard

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CONTACT: Office of Media Communications, msp.media@maryland.gov