Undercover operation leads to arrest of Sacramento man trying to meet Murrieta teenager

A Sacramento man was arrested in Riverside County after an undercover operation revealed he was trying to meet up with a teenager.

The month-long investigation involved deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Office's Southwest Station Investigations Bureau who posed as a 14-year-old girl online, according to a statement from the department.

During their conversation with the suspect, identified as 44-year-old Sacramento man Laith Fathi Sikta, they arranged a meeting once he communicated his intent to have sex, the statement said. 

Related: La Puente man arrested for sexually assaulting Riverside County teenager

On Aug. 30, the suspect drove from Sacramento to Murrieta, where he was met by deputies and taken into custody. Deputies say that he was also found with marijuana in his car. 

Sikta was booked on suspicion of contacting a minor with the intent to have sex, distributing harmful material to a minor through electronic means and offering to provide a minor with marijuana. 

He is being held on $100,000 bail. 

Anyone who knows more is asked to contact investigators at (951) 696-3000.