01/03/2006 00:00
Casino dealer accused of trying to lure girl for sex
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OCEANSIDE – A card dealer at a local casino was arrested at his home yesterday on suspicion of using the Internet to try to lure underage children into having sex.
Lawrence Katz, 50, a dealer at Ocean's Eleven Casino, was taken into custody in his Natoma Way home after a search warrant was served by Ventura County Sheriff's deputies, aided by Oceanside police.
The arrest followed a monthlong investigation that began when a concerned citizen volunteer, monitoring the Internet for predators and posing as a 13-year-old girl, was contacted by Katz in a Yahoo chat room, Ventura Sheriff's Detective Mike Hartman said.
Ventura deputies became involved in the case because Katz told the volunteer he lived in Thousand Oaks.
Over the next several weeks, Hartman said, Katz provided information that enabled detectives to obtain his true address. During that time, Katz also arranged to meet with who he thought was an underage girl to arrange a sexual encounter.
On numerous occasions, Hartman said, Katz sent the volunteer sexually explicit images of himself via Web cam.
Katz was arrested at 7 a.m. on suspicion of attempting to commit a lewd act against a child, and for attempting to send harmful matter to a child with the intent of seducing the child.
He is being held at the Vista Detention Facility in lieu of $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow.
Oceanside police are asking anyone with information about this case to contact Detective Karen Priem at (760) 435-4854.
source:signonsandiego
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