BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A 59-year-old man was arrested for attempting to solicit minors after he reached out to undercover investigators, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Lawrence Edward Paul was charged with online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Monday.
Paul communicates with authorities undercover
The investigation began weeks ago and was led by BCSO’s Human Exploitation Unit with assistance from a U.S. Secret Service agent.
Salazar said the agent initially posed as a 15-year-old girl and began communicating with Paul, who used the name “CheerDad,” on a social media messaging platform.
Conversations allegedly turned explicit “very quickly,” and Paul propositioned a person he believed was a female minor, Salazar said.
The sheriff said Paul later engaged in explicit conversations with a BCSO investigator who posed as a 17-year-old girl.
The purpose of the sheriff’s office investigator’s conversation was to identify the “CheerDad” profile, according to Paul’s arrest warrant affidavit.
Paul continued to discuss explicit topics with the BCSO investigator, the affidavit stated.
The U.S. Secret Service agent also posed as a 42-year-old woman to identify the user of the profile. In the conversation, courts documents show that Paul discussed where he lives.
According to the affidavit, Paul allegedly shared his height, weight and middle name with the agent.
“Legal requests” were later received, and an email address was linked with the phone number that Paul provided on the social media platform, court records show.
Authorities received additional “legal requests” for the “CheerDad” profile and discovered the physical address associated with the account.
The location that Paul mentioned in the previous conversation with the agent was approximately one mile away from the address, the affidavit said.
Paul was later found to be the owner of the property, BCSO-issued documents stated.
Arrest at Ingram Park Mall
Paul believed he was meeting up with the 17-year-old on Monday at Ingram Park Mall to purchase clothing for her, Salazar said.
At the mall, the sheriff said deputies took Paul into custody.
While deputies were at Paul’s residence, a person approached them and reported they had contact with him, Salazar said. Investigators said the person is an adult, and an offense report was filed.
Salazar said Paul did not have a previous criminal history.
“But to even fantasize about that sort of thing with children at all ... tells you that this is a very sick individual that we’re dealing with,” Salazar said. “And so, it’s extremely disturbing. The whole case is extremely disturbing.”
According to Bexar County court records, a judge set Paul’s bond at $45,000. As of Tuesday morning, jail records indicate Paul is still in custody at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
The sheriff’s office believes there are more victims. Salazar urged anyone with information or who believes they had contact with Paul to contact BCSO at 210-335-6000.
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