KITTANNING, Pa. -- A Westmoreland County volunteer firefighter is accused of pretending to be an 18-year-old woman and sending text messages to a 12-year-old girl, before propositioning the girl for sex.
State police say at first, 32-year-old Mickey Ashbaugh, of Smithton, pretended to be an 18-year-old woman when he first made contact with the Armstrong County victim in early June.
The girl didn’t recognize the number and told her mother, who called police.
"It was very wise of her at 12 years of age to notify her mother that something wasn't right. She was receiving text messages from someone she didn't know," said trooper Garrick Lapusnak.
According to police reports, investigators continued texting Ashbaugh, who still believed he was talking to the victim.
Police said Ashbaugh then admitted to being a man, saying he was 22, and asked to meet the victim for sex.
After Ashbaugh failed to show up for what he believed was a scheduled meeting with the victim, police tracked him to his South Huntingdon Township home.
The president of the Smithton Volunteer Fire Department told Channel 4 Action News' Jennifer Miele that Ashbaugh was once active in the department and fought fires, but was not known to cause any problems.
Ashbaugh was arrested on July 1. He's facing charges which include attempted rape, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor.
Ashbaugh was arraigned before district judge Samuel Goldstrohm. Bail was set at $100,000 before Ashbraugh was remanded to the Armstrong County Jail.
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