STUART, Fla. (CBS12) — A significant arrest was made in Stuart, detectives saying they stopped a predator before he could harm a child.
The Stuart Police Department announced on Thursday that detectives, working alongside the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, began an investigation in September when a man initiated online conversations with a Stuart Police Detective posing as a 13-year-old girl. Within days, the suspect acknowledged her age and location but continued sending sexually explicit messages while planning a trip from Boca Raton to Stuart to meet her.
On the day of the planned meeting, Vincent J. Eterno, 48, arrived in Stuart expecting to meet the minor. Instead, he was greeted by Stuart Police Detectives and taken into custody…