Social media operation lands sex offender in jail

A 30-year-old sex offender is behind bars after he attempted to meet what he believed to be a 15-year-old child for the purpose of a sexual encounter.

Shawn William Wood of Westville made contact on Facebook with a covert account operated by an investigator with the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 7. At the time, Wood believed the account belonged to a 15-year-old female.

During the course of the conversation, Wood proposed plans to meet for the purpose of having sex, again believing that he was talking to a 15-year-old child.

On Dec. 8, investigators were in view of the predetermined location agreed to during the conversation when they observed Wood arrive at the location in a vehicle he described previously.

Wood was arrested and charged with obscene communication – using a computer to seduce, solicit, or lure a child or person believed to be a child; traveling to meet a minor for sex; and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.

Wood also had an active warrant out of Putnam County for failure to register as a sex offender.