Around The Region

FORT WAYNE -- A Fort Wayne man who allegedly tried to arrange to have sex with a 13-year-old girl has been arrested on a charge of attempted child solicitation.\nJonathan Garza, 23, was arrested Wednesday and was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail. Indiana State Police and federal agents had tracked Garza for three months after a constable in New Zealand found an Internet message from a man seeking child pornography, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Allen Superior Court Wednesday.\nIn mid-February, U.S. Customs Special Agent Tom Rothrock began surveillance on Garza's home after officials identified him as the person posting messages on an Internet newsgroup requesting information on initiating a sexual relationship with a young girl. A few days later, Rothrock posted a message on the newsgroup implying he had similar interests, the affidavit said.\nPolice allege Garza asked Rothrock to bring a teenage girl to a Fort Wayne motel, saying he would pay to have sex with her. He told Rothrock what the girl should wear.\nLast Thursday, Rothrock met Garza and drove him to a motel in Fort Wayne, where Garza was arrested.\nIn Indiana, child solicitation is a Class D felony punishable by 1 1/2 to three years in prison. But the offense is a Class C felony if committed by using a computer network, meaning a defendant faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.