A Philadelphia man faces multiple felony charges after he allegedly arranged to meet a 13-year-old girl that he met online for sex.
Bensalem police said that 43-year-old Eric Paul Rooney admitted that he came to an apartment complex in the 2500 block of Knights Road on July 17 to meet the underage girl to “hang out, kiss and have sex.”
He also allegedly admitted to regularly viewing and sharing child pornography depicting children as young as 5.
A Philadelphia man is accused of attempting to meet who he believed was a 13-year-old girl for sex in Bensalem.
More Bucks County News Warminster police: Man had sex with a 14-year-old girl in 2023. He faces felony charges.
Bensalem police responded to the complex after receiving a report of a sex crime.
When they spoke to Rooney, he told them he was there to have sex with a 13-year-old girl he had been communicating with for several months, according to a probable cause affidavit.
After he was read his Miranda rights, Rooney allegedly told police that he “made a mistake,” and that his “intentions tonight were to have sexual intercourse,” the affidavit said.
The affidavit indicated that Rooney was actually communicating with an “undercover persona” posing as a 13-year-old girl.
Rooney was arraigned before District Judge Regina Armitage on five felony child sex-related charges and a related misdemeanor. He was transferred to Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of $500,000 bail.
He did not have an attorney listed as of July 18, according to the docket.
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bensalem police say a man wanted to meet a 13-year-old for sex