A Corona man was indicted in Queens Supreme Court for allegedly attempting to have sex with a minor, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Monday, Dec. 21.
Eduardo Hernandez, 38, was arraigned on Monday on a four-count indictment charging him with attempted use of a child in a sexual performance, attempted criminal sexual act, attempted disseminating indecent material to minors and attempted endangering the welfare of a child. Hernandez faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
On Nov. 11 and Nov. 19, Hernandez allegedly started a sexually explicit conversation on the dating app, Grindr, with an undercover police officer pretending to be a 14-year-old boy, according to the charges.
Hernandez asked for naked pictures from the undercover officer and, believing he was communicating with a teenager, asked to meet up with the boy in Queens to have sex, Katz said.
After meeting up with the officer, who was still posing as a 14-year-old, Hernandez indicated he wanted to have sex with him, the DA said. He was arrested soon after.
In a separate case, Joseph Creegan, a 49-year-old from Manhattan, was arraigned on Tuesday, Dec. 15, in Queens Supreme Court on similar charges.
Between June 13 and Dec. 4, 2019, Creegan spoke multiple times on the app MEET24, with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl from Queens, according to Katz. Creegan, who allegedly believed he was speaking with a minor, offered his phone number and began to exchange texts messages with the undercover officer.
On June 18, 2019, Creegan asked that the two of them meet up and later asked the undercover officer to send naked pictures, according to the DA.
Creegan, like Hernandez, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the charges.
Creegan is scheduled to appear back in court on March 16, 2021, and Hernandez is scheduled to appear on Jan. 11, 2021.
