Cape man arrested on charge of soliciting fictitious girl

A fictional character created by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department resulted in a man's arrest over the weekend, authorities said.

William L. Greiner, 51, of Cape Girardeau was charged Sunday with the felonies of attempted enticement of a child and resisting arrest.

According to Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, Greiner is the second person to be charged in Cape Girardeau County under a 2-year-old law in which it is a crime for a person 21 or older to persuade a child under 15 to engage in sex even if the child was actually an officer masquerading as a minor.

The girl was a fictional character created by detective David James of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. In September, a biography of the girl, supposedly living in Jackson, was posted on the Web site hotornot.com. Swingle said in a news release that Greiner contacted the girl via e-mail and eventually over the telephone, during which a female officer posed as the girl.

At an arranged meeting at midnight Saturday at Casey's General Store in Jackson, a female undercover officer waited until Greiner drove up. He was arrested shortly after.

Greiner's bond was set at $100,000. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison, a maximum four years for each felony.