A 20-year-old Hutchinson man made a first court appearance Monday after his arrest Friday for two counts of electronic solicitation.
Matthew O’Keefe is alleged to have made contact online with a 13-year-old girl back in March and solicited a sexual encounter, that according to Hutchinson Police Detective Scott Carlton.
Carlton says he then made contact on Facebook as a 15-year-old girl and began chatting with him and they decided to meet last Friday at Rice Park, on the city’s west side. O’Keefe showed up thinking he was going to meet the 15-year-old, but met police instead.
Carlton says because his initial contact was with a 13-year-old, that count could fall under Jessica’s Law, meaning he could be looking at a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25-years, if convicted. Of course its up to the state to decide what charges will be filed.
O’Keefe made an appearance in court on the potential charges and his 15-thousand dollar bond was left the same. Magistrate Judge Randy McEwen set a status hearing in the case for April 9.