Marion, IN – A 38-year-old Marion man was arrested this week after investigators say he allegedly attempted to solicit a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl through Facebook dating messages.
According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the arrest stemmed from a Sunday, October 26 sting operation involving members of a local “Catch a Predator” group and an undercover decoy. Witnesses reported that the suspect, later identified as David W. Francis, had engaged in multiple sexually explicit conversations and allegedly sent nude photos to the decoy account.
Deputies executed a search warrant at Francis’s Marion residence on Monday morning, where he was interviewed and subsequently arrested for Child Solicitation, a Level 5 Felony.
Sheriff Del Garcia said the case reflects the department’s ongoing mission to “serve and protect” by proactively targeting individuals who pose risks to children.
Francis was booked into the Grant County Jail and released later that afternoon after posting bond.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about this case—or other similar incidents—to contact the Grant County Sheriff’s Office Crime Stoppers.
Francis is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This article was produced by a journalist and may include AI-assisted input. All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.
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