A Montgomery County man is facing multiple felony charges after he was allegedly captured in an online undercover police investigation aimed at identifying and arresting sexual predators.
The district attorney’s office said a detective with the Conshohocken Police Department was acting as a 13-year-old girl on an unnamed social media platform on Nov. 11, when 56-year-old Mark Morris, of King of Prussia, began communicating sexually with the undercover account. Though Morris initially broke off the conversation by saying he was tired and hungry, he resumed communication the following morning and asked if the teen would be willing to meet at an area hotel, investigators said.
The meeting at the hotel was arranged for later that day, and upon Morris’ arrival, he was taken into custody, police said.
As a result of the investigation, Morris has been charged with first-degree felony unlawful contact with a minor, attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse (less than 16 years old), attempted sexual assault, attempted aggravated sexual assault, attempted corruption of minors, criminal use of a communications facility and related offenses.
Morris was arraigned by District Judge Suzan Leonard, who set bail at $25,000 cash along with the stipulations that he have no unsupervised contact with minors and no use of social media accounts should he post bail.
Court records indicate Morris has since posted bail and was subsequently released. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Nov. 24 at 12:15 p.m. in front of District Judge Deborah Lukens.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
See also:
Woman Arrested After Stealing More Than $1,100 in Perfume from Macy’s in Montgomery Mall, Police Say
Man Arrested After Stealing Dirt Bike from Montgomeryville Cycle Center, Police Say
Upper Gwynedd Man Accused of Sexually Abusing 6-Year-old Girl While Babysitting
