Man booked with computer-aided solicitation of a juvenile teen-age girl after allegedly creating an elaborate scheme that included him posing as a girl in inappropriate texts to the victim

A Chalmette man has been booked with computer-aided solicitation of a juvenile teen-age girl after allegedly creating an elaborate scheme that included him posing as a girl and pretending to be a friend of the victim in numerous inappropriate texts, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Both the victim who received the texts and the girl the suspect pretended to be are juvenile teen-agers, the sheriff said.

Paul Bradford, 21, 3316 Jackson Boulevard, was arrested Aug. 1 after an investigation of what was initially reported as a possible hack of the email account of one girl.

Sheriff’s detectives determined Bradford had actually created an email account pretending to be one girl and began sending numerous inappropriate texts to a friend of that girl, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

The investigation is continuing and other charges are possible, the sheriff said.

Anyone who believes they were victimized by Bradford should report it to the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Bureau at (504) 278-7630.

Bradford has been released from St. Bernard Parish Prison on a $10,000 bond.

In unrelated investigations, two Chalmette teen-age male juveniles have been booked with a total of three vehicle burglaries and two attempted burglaries, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested July 31 and booked with two counts of attempted vehicle burglaries when he was recognized by sheriff’s deputies as one of two boys seen on a surveillance video pulling on door handles in an attempt to burglarize vehicles, the sheriff said.

The same boy was arrested again Aug. 5 and booked with two vehicle burglaries.

In a separate incident, a 13-year-old boy has been booked with vehicle burglary and another boy with him is sought, the sheriff said.