St. Johns County Sheriff's Office arrested a Georgia man for traveling to a local motel thinking he was meeting a young teenage girl for sex.
Police say Stephen Joseph Woods, a 33-year-old from Savannah, believed he was conversing online with the guardian of a thirteen-year-old girl, as well as the girl herself. He was actually talking with a detective from the SJSO Special Victims' Unit working on cyber-crimes.
SJSO Spokesman Kevin Kelshaw says Woods sent pictures of himself indicating that he wanted a sexual encounter to occur with the girl.
Woods believed he had arranged a meeting with the guardian and the girl when he travelled to a St. Johns County motel on the evening of Friday, November 2. Kelshaw says when Woods got there, he met with an undercover detective posing as the guardian. Deputies arrested him after he indicated he wanted to have sex with the girl.
The Sheriff's Office says Woods is charged with four felony counts which include: use of a computer to solicit parent or guardian's consent, travel to meet after using a computer to lure a child, and using a two way communications device to facilitate a felony.
He was booked into the County Jail where he remains in lieu of bonds totaling $400,000.
The investigation is ongoing, as SVU detectives have learned of other potential pending cases for online enticement involving the same suspect.