Luring suspect arrested after teens confront him at Henderson store
A 50-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested after a group of juveniles confronted him at a Henderson store where they alleged the man had planned to meet a teenage girl, according to Henderson police.
Matthew Weiss was arrested on suspicion of luring a child with a computer for a sex act just before midnight Oct. 3.
He was taken into custody at a Walmart on American Pacific Drive where police said he admitted to meeting a teenage girl on the internet with the intent to pick her up at the store and take her home with him, according to a Henderson Police Department arrest report.
Weiss had been reported by a group of juveniles who set up the meeting on the MeetMe app using photos of one of their friends who is under 16, police said. They also videotaped Weiss buying condoms in the store before the kids confronted him outside, the arrest report said.
Weiss told police he knew the girl was underage, the arrest report said.
“He stated that he knew what he was doing was wrong but that he had not had sex in a long time and this is likely why he decided to go through with the act,” police said. “He stated that he had done this before back in 2012 and was arrested for it.”
Weiss is listed as a level-two sex offender who was convicted in 2013 in District Court of luring a child with a computer for a sex act, according to the Nevada sex offender registry.
He was charged on Oct. 6 with luring a child with a computer for a sex act and is being held on $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday.
In a statement Wednesday to the Review-Journal, Henderson police said that while the juveniles’ actions weren’t illegal, their methods aren’t encouraged.
“The City of Henderson Police Department strongly encourages our community members to contact the police for all crimes in progress, where they can assist the police by being a great witness rather than possibly becoming a victim or worse, getting themselves or someone else hurt,” the statement read.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
