BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — A registered sex offender is behind bars on $30 million bail after trying to lure a 13-year-old girl he met on a dating app, police said.
Bensalem Police said Anthony Dillard, 49, of West Chester, was convicted of statutory sexual assault and Corruption of Minors in 2016 and is currently listed as a Tier 3 (Lifetime) Megan’s Law Offender on the PA State Police website.
On April 5, Dillard began a conversation with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl on a dating app, police said.
The messaging continued for several weeks, and Dillard became increasingly romantic with the girl.
He told her that he would like to meet up with her near her home in Bensalem and rent a hotel room to “hang out.” He also sent her a picture of himself almost entirely nude and requested a naked picture of the girl, police said.
On May 1, Dillard traveled to Bensalem to meet, but the meeting was canceled.
Dillard continued to chat with the child over the next couple of weeks and told her that he still wanted to meet and do “sexual stuff” with her. He then described several sexual acts he was thinking about, police said.
On Tuesday, Dillard traveled to Bensalem again to meet the 13-year-old girl for a sexual encounter. As he exited his vehicle, police were waiting for him, and he was taken into custody without incident.
Police also found a bottle of Tito’s vodka in his vehicle that he brought to the meet-up.
No child was ever in danger during this investigation.
Dillard was charged with Attempted Involuntary Deviant Sexual Intercourse, Attempted Indecent Assault, Unlawful Contact with a Minor, Sexual Abuse of Children Photo/Video, Attempted Corruption of Minors, and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility.
He was arraigned by District Justice Joseph Falcone and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $30 million bail.