An Alabama man has been arrested after trying to set up a sex date with a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl, instead he found police officers waiting for him at the hotel instead.

The investigation began on December 22, when detectives with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office’s Vice and Narcotics Division, as well as personnel from the FBI and United States Secret Service conducted an operation in conjunction with the Millen Police Department in Millen, Georgia.

According to reports, detectives with the Millen Police Department were proactively seeking individuals who were committing internet crimes against children when they made contact with a 39-year-old Pinson man.

The man believed he was chatting online with a 14-year-old girl. During the conversation, he arranged to meet the child at a hotel in Fultondale. Millen Police detectives collaborated with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and US Secret Service agents to meet the suspect at the hotel, in place of the fictional 14-year-old child.

Christopher W. Card was arrested in the parking lot of a hotel on Lowery Parkway in Fultondale.

He was placed in the Jefferson County Jail on charges of Child Solicitation by computer and traveling to meet a child for unlawful sex acts.

His bonds were set at $90,000.
A search warrant was also conducted on Card’s home in Pinson.

Several electronic devices were recovered. Additional charges are possible based upon the results of the inspection of those devices.

“Agencies working together is another example of how our deputies build relationships. In this case, we were able to arrest a child predator living right here in Jefferson County,” Sheriff Pettway said. “We are thankful for the work done by all agencies involved in this operation and are particularly impressed by the tenacity of the Millen Police Department. The teamwork exhibited by all involved is exactly what we need to stop these types of predators.”