The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Jacksonville man Wednesday on charges of attempting to lure and sexually corrupt a local teenager. 

The suspect, 39-year-old Anthony Nicholas Wheeler, connected with the minor via mobile messaging app Snapchat through the app’s “Quick Add” feature, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

After the teen’s parents learned of the communications on March 22, they intervened and reported it to the sheriff’s office.

Detectives with the Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team took over the child’s Snapchat account and learned Wheeler was communicating sexually with the teen, according to the release.

Wheeler arranged to meet with a SOCET detective posing as the teen on Wednesday, where undercover law enforcement with JCSO, SOCET, Oregon State Police and the Medford Police Department positioned themselves at the suspect’s prearranged meeting spot at a bowling alley in Medford, according to authorities.

Detectives arrested the suspect without incident at 7:28 p.m. Wednesday. 

Wheeler was officially charged with first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, second-degree online sexual corruption of a child and luring a minor. He was lodged in the Jackson County Jail on $250,000 bail, where he remained Friday.

Wheeler has prior convictions in Douglas and Jackson counties dating back to 2008 that include reckless driving, second-degree criminal trespass, unauthorized use of vehicle and driving under the influence of intoxicants, court records show.

The U.S. Marshals Service funded the operation. 

SOCET is a joint inter-agency task force started in 2020 to combat child exploitation, and the task force includes investigators from JCSO, Oregon Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations as well as law enforcement partners in Jackson and Josephine counties. 

The case will be prosecuted by the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office. 

Video of the arrest can be watched at vimeo.com/1070169864?share=copy#t=0. 

Wheeler can be heard on a video provided by JCSO, at the time of his arrest, saying, “Oh, I knew this was gonna happen.”

The sheriff’s office said this case “is a reminder of the importance for parents or guardians to be aware of what their child is doing online.”

Law enforcement included tips for ensuring the safety of their children in the release.

Tips for safe internet use include:

Discuss internet safety and develop an online safety plan with children before they engage in online activity;

Establish clear guidelines and teach children to spot red flags while encouraging open communication; 

Encourage children to tell a parent or guardian or other trusted adult if anyone asks them to engage in sexual activity or other inappropriate behavior and immediately report it by calling 911, contacting the FBI at tips.fbi.gov/home or filling a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or report.cybertip.org. 

For more information on keeping kids safe online, visit justice.gov/criminal/criminal-ceos/keeping-children-safe-online.