HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the arrest of a Philadelphia man who allegedly traveled to Montgomery County intending to engage in sexual abuse with someone who he believed to be a 12-year-old child.
Oleksandr Kanarchyk, 33, was charged with felony counts of criminal attempt rape of a child, unlawful contact with a minor and other related charges.
His bail was set at $500,000 cash. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 8.
“The allegations in this case are disturbing and they underscore the importance of proactive investigations aimed at protecting children from abuse and exploitation,” Attorney General Sunday said. “I commend our Child Predator Section and our law enforcement partners for their work to identify and apprehend individuals who seek to victimize minors.”
The investigation began when an undercover agent with the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section created a fictitious online profile posing as a mother offering her 12-year-old child for sexual acts on a prostitution website.
Kanarchyk responded to the profile and offered to pay $200 to engage in sexual acts with the child. After communicating with the undercover agent, he arranged to meet at a hotel in Conshohocken.
When Kanarchyk arrived at the meeting location, agents located him in his vehicle in the hotel parking lot and took him into custody.
This case was investigated by the Office’s Child Predator Section and is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Michelle Laucella. Criminal charges, and any discussion thereof, are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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