A Pennsylvania college professor has been arrested in an undercover child sex sting, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said.
Dr. David B. Eller, 61, 630 Mt. Joy St., Elizabethtown, Lancaster County, is accused of using a Yahoo chat room to make contact with underage "girls." The "girls" actually were undercover agents.
Eller is the chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at Elizabethtown College.
Corbett said that, on June 29, 2006, Eller contacted an undercover agent from the Harrisburg area, who had assumed the online identity of a 12-year old girl. Eller allegedly asked the "girl" what grade she was in, and was told that the she would be starting seventh grade.
According to the criminal complaint, after confirming the girl's age, Eller asked if he could get "personal" and then proceeded to ask a series of questions about her sexual experience. Corbett said that on June 30, Eller again contacted the undercover agent, asking about what type of swimsuit she wore, whether she had any "tan lines" and again asking about what "things" she has done with boys.
At one point during that conversation, Eller allegedly stated "I chat from my office, so there are occasional interruptions," Corbett said.
The criminal charges state that Eller contacted the undercover agent again on July 18, explaining that he had been out of town on vacation, which was why he had not been online for some time.
Corbett said that during the July 18 chat, Eller allegedly told the girl that he was interested in "learning to know you on chat, and if it works out, we set up a meeting," adding that "if we meet, if would be for private fun." He then went on to explain in graphic detail the sex acts he wished to perform with what he believed was a 12-year old girl
According to the criminal charges, Eller made arrangements to meet the undercover agent on Thursday, July 20, in the parking lot of a store located in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, for the purpose of having sex.
Corbett said that at approximately 12:30 p.m. on July 20, Eller arrived at the predetermined meeting place and was taken into custody by agents from the Attorney General's Child Predator Unit and Lower Paxton Township Police.
Agents from the Attorney General's Child Predator Unit will obtain a search warrant for computer equipment in Eller's Elizabethtown College office, Corbett said.
Eller is charged with one count of criminal attempted unlawful contact with a minor, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. He also is charged with one count of criminal use of a computer, a third degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.