Butler man arrested in Clearfield County; accused of trying to meet minor

CURWENSVILLE, Pa. — A Butler man is behind bars in Clearfield County after police say he tried to meet with someone he thought was a teen.

Curwensville Police Department Chief Rod Witherite shared information saying James Andrew Cogley, 48, of Butler, was arrested over the weekend.

The department worked with 814 PredHunters and the Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office to catch Cogley at a convenience store on the intersection of State and Filbert Streets. Police said he went to that location with the intention of meeting a 15-year-old girl. The person he’d been talking to was actually an online decoy.

Police said Cogley initiated a conversation with that decoy in June.

In those messages, police say, he expressed intentions to meet the minor in Curwensville and bring her back to his house in Butler. He also sent sexually explicit photos.

Police said Cogley had a DUI suspension at the time of his arrest and was not legally driving.

He is now being held at the Clearfield County Jail.

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