PARKERSBURG - A Branam Drive man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly using the Internet to solicit sex from a 14-year-old girl.
James Andrew Jarrell, 38, 55 Branam Drive, was arrested around 1:30 p.m. by investigators from the Parkersburg Police Department, said Chief Gerald Board. Detective Floyd Holliday said Jarrell allegedly used the Internet to solicit sex from a 14-year-old girl via an instant-message chat.
Jarrell was arraigned in Wood County Magistrate Court, where his bond was set at $25,000, Holliday said. Jarrell was remanded to the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County. Board and Holliday said additional charges are pending.
On Feb. 10, Jarrell allegedly spoke with the girl online and the two engaged in a sexually explicit conversation, according to a criminal complaint. Also during the three-hour chat, the two arranged to have a meeting on Feb. 14 during which the girl would stay the night at Jarrell's residence, the complaint states.
"Most of the conversation was sexually explicit in nature. He would mention things and see how far she would go. They made a plan to set up a date," Holliday said.
However, the girl told a school counselor about the situation and the counselor reported it to police, Holliday said.
"We spoke with the suspect today, we talked to him for about four hours," Holliday said. "Based on this, we got the warrant for soliciting a minor via a computer. During our investigation, some more information came out and we went to his residence, where we served a search warrant and removed several items."
Jarrell is an acquaintance of the victim's mother, but Holliday said the girl's mother was not aware of what was happening between her daughter and Jarrell.
Jarrell has a 14-year-old daughter of his own, but the girl is now in the custody of other family members, Holliday said.
Holliday said area residents need to monitor their children's online activity.
"People need to watch what their kids are doing on the computer. These people are out there. We've proven that they're here. It's not a big city problem. We're seeing more and more of it," he said. "You need to move the computer into a room where everybody can see what they're doing. Don't give them a private space to chat with people."
