The teen girl the suspect thought he was communicating with online was actually an undercover agent, Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County authorities arrested a man who was allegedly trying to meet a young girl for sex—the second time in as many months officials say the suspect was communicating with a minor who was really local undercover law enforcement.
In the prior case, however, officials said 32-year-old Brandon Michael Felan stopped communications before arranging a meet-up. In this instance, plans were made to meet at a San Antonio restaurant on the far west side.
Salazar said the man was arrested without incident by SWAT at a restaurant in the 10700 block of Potranco, where the undercover officer told him to meet with who he thought was the child.
“In this instance, very similar circumstances: Again he thought he was talking to a 16-year-old, again he began making inappropriate requests of this young girl,” Sheriff Javier Salazar, adding Felan was communicating over the Whisper app, which allows users to share messages anonymously. “Inappropriate and, in fact, illegal acts that he was requesting from her.”
Authorities say the man is facing a third-degree felony charge of online solicitation of a minor. Additional charges are possible if child pornography material is found on his devices, which Salazar said were seized by sheriff’s deputies.
Over the course of their investigation, the sheriff’s office says they found the 32-year-old man was the focus of a similar case from another nearby law enforcement agency.
“Three different instances where he thinks he’s talking to three different underage girls, when in reality he’s talking to there different undercover operatives,” Salazar said. “Somebody who’s doing this often to where we’re catching him literally red-handed three different times, I’d venture to say: How many victims are out there that are actually a 16-year-old girl?”
Felan was jailed in Bexar County on a $75,000 bond.
Anyone with information about the suspect or who believes they’ve been victimized by him is urged to contact BCSO investigators at 210-335-6000.