Pittsburgh-area man accused of trying to lure undercover agent posing as 12-year-old girl to his home

A Pittsburgh-area man is facing charges after he was arrested for sending explicit photos and messages to an undercover agent from Iowa who was posing as a 12-year-old girl. 

According to the criminal complaint, 67-year-old Michael Sipe told the undercover agent that he wanted her to run away to his home in Latrobe. When the agent asked what they'd do about their age difference, police wrote in the criminal complaint that Sipe told her "they could live in Lancaster, PA and live with the Mormons." Then he said he wanted to get her pregnant, police said. 

The City of Latrobe Police Department said the investigation into Sipe began in December of last year when a sergeant from the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office reached out and said he'd been messaging Sipe while pretending to be a 12-year-old girl. 

Police seized two phones from Sipe, and detectives said they found messages between him and the undercover agent. Police said Sipe had sent several explicit photos of himself and told the girl he wanted to have sex with her. Detectives also found multiple images of child pornography, according to the criminal complaint. 

When police interviewed Sipe, they said he admitted to knowing that the girl was 12 but said he wasn't going to do anything, calling the undercover sting "entrapment." But police wrote in the criminal complaint that they believe if this girl had been real and had come to Latrobe, Sipe "would have acted on his urges and victimized this child."

Sipe has been charged with attempted rape of a child, unlawful contact with a minor and child pornography.