Sex offender accused of soliciting fake teen online
Mar. 16—A registered sex offender is accused of soliciting sex from a minor after authorities set up a fake social media account portraying a teenage girl.
Terry Paul Triplett, 42, of Akron, was charged Tuesday by Pennsylvania State Police. Court documents indicate that his current address is a transitional housing program for ex-offenders.
Police on Jan. 19 created a fictitious Facebook profile for a 15-year-old Grove City girl, according to the criminal complaint.
On Feb. 27, a man named Paul Triplett sent her a private message, writing that she was beautiful and sexy, and that he would pay her to have sex.
He told her he's in his 40s, and she said she's almost 16.
He asked for a photo of her in her undergarments and asked if the profile was actually a cop; the response was "no."
Triplett offered more money in exchange for nude photos and asked the girl to delete the conversation because he didn't want to go to prison.
He continued to send messages that were sexual in nature. He said that he wouldn't use a condom and asked if she was OK getting pregnant.
He also said he'd sneak in through her bedroom window when she's home alone, or maybe he would book a hotel room.
Triplett asked for her waist and shoe sizes and sent her images of revealing clothing he wanted her to wear.
She sent him a cell phone number and texted her that he wanted the girl to bring a friend when they meet up.
He wrote that he wanted to rape her multiple times, and they arranged to meet in Grove City. He never arrived, saying he was in a motor vehicle accident.
Police searched the internet for information about Triplett and came across his criminal history. He is active on the sexual offender registry from a felony conviction for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in Ohio.
Police on March 7 contacted the Ohio Adult Parole Authority's Akron office; they confirmed that they were actively supervising Triplett and confirmed his identity.
The parole authority office on March 8 took him into custody for a parole violation. They seized his phone, where they found the Facebook and text messages in question.
Triplett was taken to the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio, and he has yet to appear before District Judge Douglas E. Straub, Pine Township.
He was charged with solicitation for statutory sexual assault, solicitation for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a minor, solicitation for assaulting a minor, soliciting photos or film that depict sexual offenses involving a child, unlawful contact with a minor for prostitution, unlawful contact with a minor, communicating with a minor for sexual abuse, criminal use of a communication facility and corruption of minors.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Suspects are to be considered innocent until proven or adjudicated guilty in court.
