Man accused of trying to lure Utah girl


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SALT LAKE CITY -- A grand jury has indicted a California man for trying to lure a Utah girl into a sexual relationship by using an online video game.

Investigators say Robert Lavern Davison, 40, of Kelseyville, Calif., came to law enforcement's attention in November 2008 when the Centerville Police Department was contacted about a missing 13-year-old girl.

Officers discovered that the girl had been in contact with a man known only as "Bear" while playing an online Internet game, "World of Warcraft." The chats later were conducted through instant messaging.

When she disappeared, Centerville police found the online messages and found the girl at the intermodal hub waiting to board a bus to California with a ticket they say Davison helped buy.

Lt. Paul Child of the Centerville Police Department said, "We were ultimately able to find this 13-year-old girl preparing to get on a bus. So we were able to get her obviously safely back."

Authorities arrested Davison Feb. 12 in California and brought him to Utah.

He faces one count of coercion and enticement, which carries a potential maximum penalty of life in federal prison with a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence.

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Andrew Adams

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