Lansdale man sent to state prison for attempting to have sex with minor in April 2023 child molester sting

A Lansdale man arrested last May as part of an undercover child abuse operation by Lansdale police and Montgomery County detectives was sentenced to three to six years in prison after pleading guilty to the crimes in January 2024.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill sentenced Ian Patrick Horrocks, 46, of the 100 block of St. Elmo Street, Monday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Horrocks must also register for life as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

In January, Horrocks pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a minor under 16, and all other charges against him were dropped in a plea agreement. Those charges were unlawful contact or communication with a minor, attempted statutory sexual assault of a minor, attempted corruption of a minor, attempted sexual assault of a minor, and criminal use of a communication facility.

In April 2023, detectives from the Lansdale Borough Police Department and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau launched a proactive investigation across multiple social media platforms to identify and arrest child abusers.

On the evening of April 19, 2023, an undercover detective assuming the role of a 14-year-old girl was approached by Horrocks and the two engaged in a conversation that took on a sexual nature for several hours, according to charging documents.

Chat logs included in the probable cause affidavit show that Horrocks expressed concern on multiple occasions that the chat could be a scam and alluded to the fact that an adult man could be arrested for having sex with a 14-year-old girl. After expressing those concerns, however, Horrocks sent a message indicating that he was “open to” meeting the teen for sex, and detectives arranged to meet later that evening at a predetermined location, police said.

When Horrocks arrived at the meeting location, he was arrested by a member of the security team and taken to Lansdale police station for questioning, police said.

During that interview, Horrocks allegedly confessed to having contact with a 14-year-old girl through social media and text messages, and allegedly went to the agreed-upon location to meet the teen, according to the indictment.