Altoona man accused of soliciting sex from teen decoy on Halloween

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — An Altoona man is in jail after he was accused of trying to solicit sex from what he thought was a teenage girl on Halloween.

Kenneth West, 44, is facing three felony charges involving sexual abuse of a child. Altoona police were sent to 4D's Lounge at 11:44 p.m. on Oct. 31 for West allegedly attempting to meet with a 14-year-old he wanted to have sex with.

The Altoona Pred Hunters told police West contacted a decoy Facebook account on Oct 25. According to the complaint, the decoy told West they would be 15 years old in three weeks after he said he was 44.

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West allegedly invited the teen decoy to a Halloween party at 4D's Lounge and that he could get her into the club because he is a doorman and bouncer. The group claimed that West discussed giving the teen decoy free alcohol and intended to have sex with her "once she sobers up," according to court documents.

Police noted that West also invited the decoy to stay at his residence for a weekend and further talked about taking her virginity and marrying her. The complaint also alleged that West sent a photo of his genitals to the decoy, made comments about performing sexual acts on them and asked for a nude photo.

On Halloween, the night of the party, West allegedly told the teen decoy to meet him at 4D's Lounge but later said to go to his address to wait for him after the decoy said she did not have an ID.

When questioned by police, West allegedly admitted to contacting the account but claimed he did not know the user was not 18 and did not remember her saying her age.

Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! . A search warrant was executed on West's phone where the conversations between him and the decoy were found, according to the complaint. Police said the decoy in the conversation did not change her age and further confirmed her age by explaining she was still in school and did not have an ID.

West was arraigned Tuesday and taken to the Blair County Prison where he's being held on $75,000 bail.