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Police say man groomed 8th grader on social media to meet up for sex

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Police said a 24-year-old man groomed an eighth grader he met on Facebook, eventually convincing her to meet up in a Ross Township park to have sex.

Police said the suspect’s name is Justin Sirceley, and they are throwing the book at him. Sirceley was charged with seven criminal counts and six felonies.

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Ross Township police told Channel 11 Sirceley found an eighth grade girl he liked on Facebook, and from there groomed her to meet for sex.

"Started discussions thru Facebook and developed over that time trust and convinced her they should meet up and a sexual encounter grew from that,” explained Ross Township Detective Brian Kolhepp.

Police said Sirceley sent inappropriate text messages to the girl and then convinced her to meet him for sex in a remote Ross Township park. And police said this was not a one time encounter, but that it happened numerous times. Police added Sirceley also supplied the girl with marijuana.

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"We have an active arrest warrant for him we are attempting to locate him and we welcome any  help from the public,” Kolhepp said.

Police said unfortunately, they are continuing to see this more often, men trolling for underage girls through social media. Channel 11 asked the police, what would you do if it was your child?

“I’m going to make sure my child allows me access and sometimes at night random checks. You go on their phone and go through and check their social media accounts, you check their texts and check their contacts. You go through their backpack you go through their laptop,” Kolhepp said.

Police said the victim in this case was 14-years-old.