Brown
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KINGSTON — A man from Pittston in online chat logs stated he was taking a chance on meeting a 15-year-old boy he allegedly solicited to have sex.
Police in Kingston on Tuesday charged Michael Brown, 60, of East Drive, with online soliciting with who he believed was a teenage boy for sex on Sept. 8.
The charges were filed against Brown based on the efforts of a cooperating witness, who in turn, is Musa Harris, the self-proclaimed Luzerne County Predator Catcher.
Brown was arraigned by District Judge James Haggerty in Kingston on two counts of criminal attempt to commit unlawful contact and one count each of criminal solicitation to commit involuntary sexual intercourse, criminal attempt to commit statutory sexual assault and criminal use of communication facility. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bail, court records say.
According to the criminal complaint:
Brown initiated contact with who he believed was a boy stating, “Good Morning I’m 57” and sent a picture of himself.
Brown referred to a sex act and asked the boy if he was 18 or older.
During the online chats, Brown asked if he was getting “set up” and that he was “going to take a chance” at meeting the boy.
A video of the confrontation with Brown was posted on the Luzerne County Predator Catcher’s social media page. Details of the encounter are also listed in the complaint.
When the cooperating witness entered Brown’s vehicle, Brown said he was meeting a person who was 38 years old.