A 33-year-old New Westminster man intent on meeting up with a 14-year-old girl for sex found police waiting for him instead.

The suspect now faces a charge of Internet luring after his arrest Friday at a New Westminster location he arranged for the meeting.

Last Tuesday the man communicated over the Internet with what he thought was a young girl. And at one point in the conversation he asked if she wanted to meet for sex.

But the girl was actually a male New Westminster Police officer who had set up a fictitious profile on a youth-oriented social networking web site.

Once a meeting time and location was set up, the detective identified the suspect through his IP (Internet protocol) address—the footprint left behind by computers on the Internet.

He was put under surveillance and the NWPS surveillance team followed him from his home to the meeting location. There the youthful-looking female officer, dressed to play the role of the young girl, greeted him with handcuffs after he introduced himself.

After being arrested, police seized his computer so data on it could be searched.

After appearing in court the suspect was released on condition he not have contact with anyone under the age of 16 and he not have Internet access.

Police have recommended to Crown counsel that he be charged with luring.

Examples like this are a good reason for parents to monitor their children's Internet activities, said Sgt. Gary Weishaar with the NWPS.

"Young people are doing what they consider harmless. And 99 per cent of the time it's just harmless Internet banter," he said.

"But the anonymous nature of the Internet means children often don't know who they're communicating with," said Weishaar.

He encourages parents to be active participants in supervising their children’s Internet activities. Social networking sites can be safe and entertaining for young people. However, it can also be an area where predators are cloaked in anonymity.

mmcquillan@newwestnewsleader.com