A Wisconsin man is facing charges in Westmoreland County after police say he drove to Vandergrift to meet with a minor.
Ethan William Haley, 22, was arrested Monday after Vandergrift police found him with a teenage boy, whom Haley told police he had driven from Wisconsin to meet, according to a criminal complaint.
Haley was driving along Washington Avenue about 12:20 a.m. when he was pulled over for not having his headlights on, police said. Officers said they saw two people in the car, one a minor.
When asked for identification, Haley presented a Minnesota driver’s license and told police he was in the area meeting friends, according to the complaint.
According to police, Haley said the boy did not have identification.
The officer then walked over to the passenger side to speak with the boy, who was observed not wearing any shoes and “was very nervous and seemed to be unsure” what to tell police, officials said. After the boy gave his age and address, an officer went to speak with his parents, who said they were not aware the boy had left the house.
Haley, who told police he knew the boy through the social media app Snapchat, was then detained so officers could figure out the situation, according to the complaint. At that point, Haley told police he had recently gotten off probation for sex offenses in Minnesota, officials said.
During an interview with police, the boy said he had known Haley for about a year, and that he started talking to Haley because he needed a friend, officials said. According to the complaint, the boy said Haley often steered the conversations toward sexual topics and sent him nude photos.
The boy told police he provided Haley with his phone number and address, and jumped from his window to get into Haley’s car when Haley came to meet him.
The boy said that, before being pulled over by police, had a bad feeling and Haley was a little “handsy,” according to the complaint.
Haley confirmed the two had had explicit conversations but said he did not remember sending photos. He told police he was traveling to South Carolina to meet with a friend when he detoured to Vandergrift to tell the boy “they cannot have a sexual relationship,” the complaint reads.
Haley is charged with unlawful contact with a minor and disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor, court records show.
He is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison after being unable to post $100,000 bond, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 6.
