A 57-year-old Bateau Bay man has been charged, after allegedly trying to groom a teenage girl for sex.
On December 7, Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad detectives began engaging with a Central Coast man online.
After further inquiries, detectives arrested the man at a Bateau Bay fast food restaurant on Wednesday.
Officers then searched a nearby unit, where they seized several items, including a computer, a mobile phone, USB drives, and an amount of a prohibited drug.
Police will allege the man believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old girl, and engaged in sexually explicit conversations before making plans to meet with the teen for sex.
It will also be alleged he approached a 14-year-old girl at a Bateau Bay shopping centre on December 14 and later sent her sexually inappropriate material.
He was charged with groom child for unlawful sexual activity, use carriage service to procure under 16 years for sexual activity, use carriage service to menace/harass/offend, and possess prohibited drug.
He will face Wyong Local Court today.
