MARQUETTE, MI— A Houghton County man is jailed for soliciting a minor for sex.
During an investigation into child sexual predators in the U.P., troopers with the Michigan State Police Eighth District Hometown Security Team came into contact June 4th with a suspect from Lake Linden. A trooper from the team was posing as a minor, and the 43-year-old man began conversing and asking to meet with the minor for sex.
On June 16th, a female trooper acted as a decoy at a Marquette Township establishment. The suspect pulled into the parking lot, approached the decoy, and asked her to come out. As he neared the decoy’s location, police arrested him.
Erick John Alatalo was lodged in the Marquette County Jail on charges of accosting a child for immoral purposes, child sexually abusive activity, and using a computer to commit a crime.
Anyone with information regarding additional victims with this suspect or area is asked to contact the Michigan State Police Eighth District Headquarters.
The Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET), MSP Negaunee Post troopers and detectives, MSP Canine Unit, and the Eighth District Computer Crimes Unit assisted at the scene.
