MAN ARRESTED NEAR PUNXSUTAWNEY FOR SENDING SEXUALLY OFFICIAL MESSAGES

A man with ties to Westmoreland and Indiana counties was arrested in Jefferson County for sending sexual messages to someone he believed to be a young girl.

Ryan Gabelli, 31, who has an address in Blairsville according to court documents, sent messages to a person he thought was a fifteen-year-old, but in reality he was sending the messages to a representative of 814 Pred Hunters, a group dedicated to exposing online predators. He had arranged to meet the girl near Punxsutawney on Friday and was arrested by state police at that time. He reportedly admitted to police that he shouldn’t have met the girl, but said they were just meeting to hang out.

Gabelli is currently in the Jefferson County Jail, where he is unable to pay a $100,000 bail. He is charged with sexual assault, involuntary sexual intercourse with a person under 16, aggravated sexual assault, enticement of a minor and other offenses. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26.^th.