Courts
19-y.o. La Crosse man nearly avoids trying to meet 14-y.o. girl, but changes his mind and gets caught
Police say a La Crosse man, accused of attempted sexual assault, nearly backed out of a meeting with someone he met online, saying he didn’t want to be on the TV show To Catch a Predator.
But, a criminal complaint says 19-year-old Isaac Jacobson changed his mind and was arrested last week, when he attempted to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
Jacobson was caught during a sting operation by the Coulee Region Children’s Internet Protection Task Force.
The complaint says that during online exchanges, when Jacobson was told he was chatting with a girl who was “almost 15,” he said, “You are way too young.”
Later, Jacobson asked, “You’re not a cop, right?” but then said, “It wouldn’t matter,” if they were just “hanging out.”
When Jacobson reached the meeting site, officers found him carrying condoms.
He was asked whether he had planned to have sex, and said “Mm-hmm.”
Jacobson is charged with attempting to sexually assault a child, and using a computer to arrange a child sex crime.
