CLEARFIELD – Another man caught by the 814Pred Hunters group waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Keith Alan Welch, 32, Mount Union, is charged by Clearfield Borough Police with felony counts of corruption of minors and criminal use of communication facility, as well as misdemeanor hire/employ/use minor to assist.
He is free on $75,000 bail.
Welch is just one of the many men responding to profiles of underage girls on various social media sites by sending inappropriate messages, videos, photos and trying to meet them for sex who have been caught in the web of 814Pred Hunters.
According to Welch’s affidavit, police were called to a Clearfield Borough business because the predator group had encountered a man who thought he was meeting with a 15-year-old girl.
The group provided officers with a binder full of copies of the conversations between their decoy and Welch including explicit photos of Welch and requests from him to have the girl send him naked photos.
When questioned by police, Welch reportedly admitted to sending the messages and wanting to meet the underage girl for sex.
Another predator case against Todd Guldenschuh, 37, Ligonier, was also scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, but it was continued until Feb. 8. He is also free after posting $75,000 bail.
The 814 group has at least nine other cases in the county court system. They have also dealt with predators in Blair, Elk and Wyoming Counties and others out of state.
For more information on this group, click here.