BLOOMINGTON — A 21-year-old man from Pennsylvania is facing child sex charges in Monroe County for alleged inappropriate communication with a 12-year-old girl.
Finn Lindsey, of Holmes, Pennsylvania, is charged with vicarious sexual gratification with a victim under 14, a Level 4 felony; child solicitation with a victim under 14, a Level 5 felony; and dissemination of matter harmful to minors, a Level 6 felony.
Lindsey was booked into the Monroe County Jail Nov. 24, according to the daily arrest log summary.
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According to court documents, the investigation began in September when a Monroe County Deputy talked with a mother who said her daughter was communicating with who they believed was an adult male from Pennsylvania.
Investigators were able to track down the phone number to Lindsey.
The girl told police that she met Lindsey while playing Fortnite online and had sent several inappropriate and sexual text messages to her between Sept. 6 and Sept. 17 and had engaged in sexual conduct on FaceTime.
According to court documents, the girl told Lindsey she was 12 years old, and that the communication continued.
At one point, court documents state, investigators got permission to continue communication with Lindsey, posing as the girl, where he reportedly sent several more inappropriate texts and sexual images.
Police with the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce in Delaware County, Pennsylvania was contacted and located Lindsey.
In an interview, court documents state Lindsey understood what the investigation was about and called it a “lapse of judgement.” Police seized the phone and collected the text massages as evidence.
Lindsey has an initial hearing in court Monday, according to online court records. If convicted, he faces a sentence up to 12 years for a Level 4 felony, up to six years for a Level 5 felony and up to two and a half years for a Level 6 felony, according to Indiana sentencing guidelines.
Child exploitation is an act in which a child is being groomed to take sexually explicit images and/or ultimately meet face-to-face with someone for sexual purposes, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a non-profit that works to combat child sex offenses.
In 2024, through October 5, NCMEC has received more than 456,000 reports of online enticement; a number that has increased by more than 300% since 2021.
NCMEC says the most common tactics used to entice children include:
- Engaging in sexual conversation/role-playing as a grooming method, rather than a goal.
- Asking the child for sexually explicit images of themselves or mutually sharing images.
- Developing a rapport through compliments, discussing shared interests or “liking” their online post, also known as grooming.
- Sending or offering sexually explicit images of themselves.
- Pretending to be younger.
- Offering an incentive such as a gift card, alcohol, drugs, lodging, transportation or food.
If you believe someone is the victim of child sexual exploitation or solicitation, you can submit a report to the NCMEC CyberTipline or to local police.
