Ohio man who allegedly drove to NW Indiana to have sex with 'child' arrested in undercover sting

LAKE COUNTY, Ind. - An Ohio man accused of traveling to northwest Indiana to have a sexual relationship with a person he thought was a child has been arrested.

Zachary S. Clemens, 38, was taken into custody Monday after traveling more than 300 miles from his home in Dublin, Ohio to meet the 'girl', who was actually an undercover online detective with the Lake County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Group.

Officials said for the past several weeks, Clemens had been speaking with the undercover detective online, who was posing as a girl under the age of 14. During their conversations, he allegedly sent nude photos of himself to the detective, who he thought was a young child.

Clemens then devised a plan to travel from his home to meet the 'girl' and have a sexual encounter with her, officials said. On Monday, he drove to Lake County where he was met by detectives with the Special Investigations Group.

Zachary S. Clemens, 38. (Lake County Sheriffs Office)

He was taken into custody and transported to the Lake County Sheriff's Office where authorities also found a small amount of cocaine on him.

Clemens has been charged with five felonies including attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse, indecent solicitation of a child, traveling to meet a minor, grooming, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

"Our Special Investigations Group identified and stopped another person from being able to meet a child for sexual purposes," Sheriff John D. Idleburg said in a statement. "This time, the person drove over 300 miles to try and meet who he thought was a child."

Clemens is currently being held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Group collaborated with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in the investigation.