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He thought he was meeting an 8-year-old for sex, instead, it was police he met

He thought he was chatting with the 8-year-old's older sister who made the arrangement

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Police say he thought he was meeting to have sex with an 8-year-old girl, however, it was undercover police officers who made the arrangement. 

On Nov. 1, a 34-year-old Cartersville man, identified as Brian Travis Cowart, was arrested by detectives from the Paulding County Sheriff's Office as a result of the elaborate attempt to have sex with the 8-year-old. 

On Oct. 29, authorities say the Juvenile Investigations Division was contacted by a complainant who advised they located a person on a social media site requesting to have sex with 5-to-10-year-old girls.

On Oct. 31, an undercover detective made contact with Cowart in an online conversation. As a result of the online chat, Cowart offered a sum of money to perform sex acts on an 8-year-old girl. Cowart thought he was communicating online with the girl’s older sister.

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The next day, Cowart devised a plan to meet the alleged victim’s sister at a retail store in Hiram where she would deliver the 8-year-old victim to Cowart for a certain period of time. Upon Cowart’s arrival, he was swiftly taken into custody by several detectives from the Juvenile Investigations Division who were waiting on him in the parking lot.

“As adults, it is our responsibility to keep children safe from online predators. I want to encourage all parents to keep an eye on your child’s online activities and know who they are communicating with at all times,” Sheriff Gary Gulledge said.  

Cowart was charged with felonies for criminal attempt to commit child molestation, criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes and violation of the Computer/Electronic Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act. 

He is currently being held in the Paulding County Jail without bond. 

Detectives want to encourage anyone who has had any online contact with Cowart to call Lieutenant Starry Kilgore or Sergeant Lenny Carr of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Investigations Division at (770) 445-6105.

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