Greencastle man booked on child sex crime

A Greencastle man was arrested earlier this week after he allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to a decoy he believed was a 13-year-old female. 

According to police, Charles Cooper was arrested and charged with a Level 5 felony count of child exploitation, a Level 5 felony count of child solicitation, a Level 6 felony count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors and a misdemeanor charge of inappropriate communication with a child. 

Court documents state the Putnam County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a sexual violence call on Oct. 24. Upon arrival, deputies met with someone from a predator poacher group in Kentucky. This person supplied police with messages between Cooper and a decoy, who claimed to be a 13-year-old female.

Cooper allegedly replied that he was 38 when the decoy stated she was 13 and the two continued sending messages back and forth. Cooper sent a photo of himself to the decoy, who then asked Cooper to download an app called Telegram. 

According to police, Cooper sent pictures of his genitals and made remarks about performing and receiving oral sex to the decoy. 

When police arrived, a representative from the poacher group was interviewing Cooper, who immediately denied sending any photos to the decoy. Cooper said he thought he was being catfished and told police he was (expletive) around, thinking he was talking to an adult.