A Little Rock man who posted an ad seeking underage sexual partners and tried to meet up with a 13-year-old girl was released from jail on bond Wednesday, according to court documents.
On Sunday, Faulkner County sheriff’s office investigator Chad Meli found a suspicious online ad from a man looking for an “Open Family” to “chat [with] and see how we get along,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
The term “Open Family” refers to a type of family unit in which members engage in sexual contact with each other, Meli wrote. The man who placed the ad described himself as 44 years old, divorced and about 5 feet 10 inches tall, the document says.
While using an undercover name, Meli contacted the man, later identified by police as 44-year-old James Lindsey Short, who said he was interested in having sex with a 13-year-old girl, the affidavit says.
Short also allegedly sent along sexual photos of himself to show and set up a time to meet in Greenbrier.
On Monday, sheriff’s office personnel met Short at the predetermined location and arrested him. In his possession was a backpack of clothing and toiletries as well as a tube of lube, authorities said.
After talking with investigators, Short admitted to placing the ad and discussing the possibility of sex with the teenage girl, the affidavit says. He told them he would not have engaged in illegal sexual activity with the girl.
Short was booked into Faulkner County jail Monday on a charge of conspiracy to commit rape. He was released Wednesday afternoon on a $50,000 bond, according to the inmate roster.
A court date is scheduled for Aug. 28.
