Within seconds of going online, undercover deputies posing as a teenage girl were targeted with explicit messages — leading to the arrest of a 34-year-old Bexar County man, officials said Tuesday.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar identified the suspect as Nathan Robert Anderson, who was arrested earlier in the day on a charge of online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony.
The case stems from an undercover operation led by the agency’s Human Exploitation Unit, working alongside federal partners, according to the sheriff, who was speaking Tuesday at a news conference. Investigators said Anderson communicated with who he thought was a 16-year-old girl, but was actually interacting with undercover deputies.
Authorities said the conversations, which began in April and were reestablished more recently, included explicit requests for illegal sexual acts.
“He was very clear about what it is that he wanted to do to this young person,” Salazar said, describing the messages as graphic and disturbing.
Deputies obtained an arrest warrant and took Anderson into custody without incident at his Northwest Side home. Investigators were also executing a search warrant at the residence Tuesday, looking for electronic devices and digital evidence that could lead to additional charges.
Salazar said Anderson told investigators he worked in private security and claimed to have ties to the San Antonio Spurs, though the sheriff said that claim is not believed to be true. Authorities did confirm the suspect installs security cameras and had done work for school districts, a detail Salazar called “troubling.”
The sheriff used the case to warn parents about the dangers of online platforms, noting how quickly suspects target minors.
“In this instance, our undercover wasn’t online very long at all before this guy started messaging,” Salazar said. “That’s typically how it happens.”
He added that predators often pose as teens themselves, making it difficult for young users to identify threats.