MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A man indicted by the May 2018 grand jury for attempting to seduce a 12-year-old over the internet pleaded guilty Tuesday in Monongalia County Circuit Court.
Judge Phillip Gaujot accepted the guilty plea of Chadwick D. Alt, 34. Alt pleaded guilty to use of obscene matter with intent to seduce a minor and soliciting a minor via computer.
As part of the plea bargain the state will recommend the statutory sentence but will not take a position on if those sentences should run together or separately, Monongalia County Prosecutor Perri DeChristopher said.
Alt’s case was forwarded to the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department by the Internet Crimes Against Children unit in Franklin County, Ohio, who started investigating the case after someone, later discovered to be Alt, posted remarks on a website, DeChristopher said.
Alt believed he was talking to a 12-year-old girl and the conversation moved to the messaging platform Kik where Alt made sexual comments to try to entice her into a sex act, DeChristopher said. According to Alt’s indictment, he sent nude photos of his genitals.
Officials in Ohio determined the IP address being used was in Monongalia County and forwarded the case to the sheriff’s department.
Once confronted by the sheriff’s department, Alt was cooperative, DeChristopher said.
Alt is employed by WVU Research Corp. and assigned to WVU Information Technology Services.
Following Alt’s arrest in March, WVU Spokesperson John Bolt told The Dominion Post Alt was suspended with-out pay pending the resolution of the case. WVU did not respond to a request for an update on Alt’s employment in time for this report.
Sentencing was set for February, 2019. Alt faces up to five years in prison for use of obscene matter and two-10 years in prison for the solicitation via computer charge. He must also register as a sex offender for at least 10 years and possibly for life but that wasn’t immediately clear on Tuesday.
Story by William Dean