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Indianapolis man snared by child predator tracking group
BAINBRIDGE — Allegedly believing he was hooking up with a 14-year-old girl in Putnam County, a 34-year-old Indianapolis man found himself in the Putnam County Jail this week.
Luigi Padilla Guevara was arrested Sunday by Roachdale Deputy Marshal Anthony Taylor and on Tuesday formally charged with Level 4 felony child solicitation.
Padilla Guevara’s arrest was the second local sting operation in a week by the Indianapolis Predator Catchers group, the previous resulting in the arrest of a Brazil man at the Greencastle Walmart store.
In this case Padilla Guevara, identifying himself as “Alejandro,” is alleged to have communicated via dating app Badoo, text message and Snapchat with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, according to court records.
Officer Taylor became involved when he was called to East Point Park in Bainbridge shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday.
After Padilla Guevara arrived at the park and made contact with the decoy, Taylor and fellow Deputy Marshal Bryson Tash arrived with their emergency lights activated. Once Padilla Guevara was detained, the predator catcher representative shared with him a series of text messages, Snapchat threads and screenshots she said she had exchanged with the suspect.
In communicating with someone who had identified herself as a 14-year-old girl, Padilla Guevara allegedly made a number of statements that were sexual in nature, including acts he wished to perform with the teen.
Court records indicate that Padilla Guevara admitted to having contacted the supposed teenager and believing that he was meeting with a 14-year-old girl. However, he told the officer that, in spite of the sexual conversations, he intended to meet with the girl as a way to inform her to avoid meeting strangers online.
He repeatedly stated that he was not actually going to have sex with the teen decoy.
Appearing before Putnam Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley on Tuesday, Padilla Guevara entered a not-guilty plea.
Headley set the bond at $30,000 cash only, citing the fact that Padilla Guevara has no connections to Putnam County and has only even lived in Indianapolis for about two months.
A native of Venezuela, Padilla Guevara is in the United States legally.
The judge further informed him that his next court hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 12.
“So I will be incarcerated until then?” Padilla Guevara asked through an interpreter.
“Yes, unless you make bond or bond is modified,” Headley replied.