Man Arranged Meetup With Girl At Northshore Mall: Police

PEABODY, MA —A Haverhill man is facing new charges after police said he arranged a meeting with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl at the Northshore Mall in Peabody.

The girl ended up being an undercover investigator from Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children Center who responded to a Feb. 9 message on the app Chat Avenue that police said read "hi wanna chat with a horny older guy?" Marc R. Reeves, 48, of Haverhill, was ordered held on $20,000 bail after pleading not guilty Monday in Newburyport District Court to child enticement and 10 counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor.

An investigator tipped off Ipswich police, who identified Reeves through social media profiles he shared with the undercover investigator, authorities said. Peabody, Newbury and Boxford police assisted in the investigation, which ended with Reeves being arrested in the mall parking lot.