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SANDY — A Weber County man who police say traveled to Sandy where he thought he was going to pay a teenage girl for sex was arrested after he was confronted by about 20 other teenagers after he arrived.
Bryce Stephen Ray, 49, of West Haven, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with enticing a minor and sexual solicitation of a child, second-degree felonies.
On Monday, Sandy police say Ray communicated with a 15-year-old girl on Snapchat and later offered the girl money in exchange for sex so she could buy clothes. He said he would give the girl about $350 in cash and use a cash app to send $350 more, according to charging documents.
The girl told Ray she was a minor. However, police say they agreed to meet at the Shops at South Town, 10450 S.State.
"Bryce did not provide his real name. He used a Snapchat screen name. Bryce, however provided a picture of himself prior to the meeting," a police booking affidavit states.
Sandy police say they were notified Tuesday of a fight happening at the mall and arrived to find "a group of approximately 20 teenagers yelling at an older male, later identified as Bryce Stephen Ray, calling him a pedophile," according to the charges.
As officers were arresting Ray, they found $360 in his pocket, the charges state.
Prosecutors have requested Ray be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail pending trial.
