An Elkton man was arrested at a Havre de Grace motel Thursday after allegedly soliciting an undercover officer on Facebook whom he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
Chad B. Pierce, 42, of the 100 block of Main Street in Elkton, was taken into custody by members of Harford County's Child Advocacy Center and an undercover Harford County Sheriff's Office deputy in the parking lot of Super 8 Hotel at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, according to charging documents.
Pierce arrived in a taxi with seven condoms to meet who he believed was 14-year-old "Ashley Anderson," a girl he has allegedly had explicitly sexual conversations with since Nov. 22, 2014, according to charging documents.
The undercover officer identified himself as being 14 in the Facebook chats. Pierce then allegedly made a stream of comments such as "I want to make love to you girl," and asked for naked pictures of "Ashley," according to the charging documents.
After agreeing to meet "Ashley" at the hotel, Pierce arrived and was immediately taken into custody, according to the documents.
Pierce, who is charged with sexually soliciting a minor, was ordered held on $60,000 bail by Harford County District Court Judge Dave Carey during a bail review Monday. He was still being held Tuesday afternoon.
Pierce is not married, has a 19-year-old child, is unemployed and is seeking disability benefits, public defender Marcus Jenkins told Carey. He graduated from Harford Technical High School, attended Coastal Carolina Community College and was honorably discharged from the Marines, Jenkins said.
Carey called the charges "disturbing" and noted Pierce "certainly has an alcohol problem," referring to past drunk-driving charges.