BELTSVILLE, Md. — Maryland State Police have arrested a Fort Washington man who allegedly attempted to solicit sex from an undercover officer posing as a minor in Prince George’s County, authorities said Friday.
Santos Carranza, 47, is charged with one count of sexual solicitation of a minor and one count of second-degree attempted rape. He is being held without bond at the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections.
Police said Carranza was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon at a shopping center in Beltsville. The arrest was part of a coordinated operation involving the Prince George’s County Police Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
According to the preliminary investigation, on December 11, Carranza engaged in inappropriate text messages with someone he believed to be a 15-year-old male. The individual was actually an undercover police officer conducting a sting operation.
Carranza’s arrest underscores ongoing efforts by law enforcement to combat the exploitation of minors, but police did not say whether or not he was a citizen of the United States.