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Massachusetts Man Accused Of Trying To Meet Underage Girl For Sex In Gilpin County

BLACK HAWK, Colo. (CBS4) - A Massachusetts man has been arrested after he allegedly attempted to meet someone he believed to be an underage female teen for the purpose of sexual contact.

Yahya Hussein Ahmad Melhem
Yahya Hussein Ahmad Melhem (credit: Gilpin County Sheriff's Office)

According to the Gilpin County Sheriff's Office, Yahya Hussein Ahmad Melhem, 47, was arrested last Friday. The underage teen was actually an undercover investigator.

The sheriff's office said Melhem was in the metro Denver area attending a conference.

"An investigator with the Gilpin County Sheriff's Office was in a social networking site portraying himself as an underage teen when he was contacted by Melhem," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Melhem said that he was 39, was a librarian in Massachusetts, and that he was in town for a conference."

The sheriff's office said the correspondence "quickly become sexually graphic. He asked her to show him her intimate body parts via webcam. He also displayed sexually graphic video of himself to her."

Melhem was arrested on criminal attempt sexual exploitation of a child, Internet sexual exploitation of a child, Internet luring of a child, and criminal attempt sexual assault on a child. He posted a $10,000 bond and is scheduled in court on next Monday.

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