Sting operation nets Vermont man

LEBANON — A 35-year-old Ludlow, Vt., man has been charged with trying to meet someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl for sex, according to court documents.

Michael Stratman pleaded not guilty in Grafton Superior Court last week to two felony counts of attempted sexual assault and one count of prohibited use of a computer in connection with the Jan. 27 incident.

He was released on a $10,000 bond and conditions, including no contact with minors and no social media use, according to court documents.

The charges follow an undercover investigation led by Lebanon Police posing as a 15-year-old girl on the social media app Whisper, according to an affidavit written by Lebanon Police Officer Eric Hunter.

Police say Stratman messaged the account on Jan. 22 and carried on a conversation over the next few days, asking to meet who he thought was an underage girl for sex.

He also asked if the girl was “real” and wrote in one message “I feel like I’m getting arrested,” according to the affidavit. Stratman allegedly arranged to meet the girl at Market Street in West Lebanon on Jan. 27, where police took him into custody.

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