Over the past several weeks, the Lebanon Police Department has been conducting investigations through a social media provider targeting individuals who were seeking to victimize children.
Lebanon Police Officers, who are specifically trained to conduct these investigations, engaged in conversations, initially occurring via Craigslist, with a male subject who sought to meet, whom he thought was, a 15-year-old female. The conversations were highly sexual in nature and the male subject made arrangements to travel to Leb
anon to meet the underage female for a sexual encounter.
On 8/1/17 Richard Byrne, age 58, of Newbury, NH drove to a parking lot of a local apartment complex, where he thought he was meeting with the 15-year-old female. He was subsequently arrested and charged with Attempted Trafficking in Persons, a Class A Felony and Certain Use of Computer Services Prohibited, a Class B Felony.
Bail was set at $20,000 cash and he was transported to the Grafton County House of Corrections pending arraignment in the Grafton County Superior Court on 8/2/17.
The Lebanon Police Department is an affiliate of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes against Children Task Force (ICAC).
Authorized by: Chief Richard R. Mello Date: 08/01/2017