Western PA Man Gets Prison Term For Lewd Contact With Teen Girl

FAYETTE COUNTY, PA — A Uniontown man has been sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for contacting a girl via social media, sending her lewd images and arranging a meeting for what he thought was a sexual encounter.

Derek Allen Reed, 35, was arrested at the prearranged meeting place in June 2023.

Reed pleaded guilty in November to numerous felonies, including several counts of unlawful contact with a minor, and dissemination of explicit sexual materials to a minor.

Following release from prison and parole, Reed will serve five years of probation. He must register as a sex offender for 25 years.

“This case is yet another alarming example of how social media can be used by predators to harm and exploit minors,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement. “In this case, the child had the courage to record the online chatter and tell her mother, who contacted police.”

Reed initially met the 15-year-old victim though spending time at an ex-girlfriend’s house. Reed communicated with the girl on Facebook and Snapchat, sending her lewd images and asking that she do the same. He also made explicit sexual comments.