It took three shopping centers and two cities, but a West Valley man finally found his way into the arms of Salem police.

Bounthananh Rattanachanh thought he was chatting with a 13-year-old girl over the Internet in late September, according to court records. It was instead Sgt. Scott Dibble of the Salem Police Department.

Rattanachanh, 32, said he was a 16-year-old from Salt Lake City interested in sex with the "girl." The chat lasted two hours and included requests by the suspect (using the screen name B.Rattanachanh) to call and send pictures, according to court documents. Dibble declined both but was allegedly contacted a week later by Rattanachanh "saying that he missed me and again asked me to call him."

During a live chat on Oct. 1, Rattanachanh asked if the "girl" could hang out and play pool and make out, according to the documents. After asking when the two were going to meet, the suspect said he had a car and a meeting was arranged at a shopping center in Spanish Fork. From there they would go to his home where they would play pool and have sex.

Dibble called police at the meeting location to see if the suspect had arrived, according to court records. He had not, so a female officer called Rattanachanh's number. He said he was at a store waiting but realized it was the wrong place and would be there shortly. After some time, the police officer called the suspect back and was told he was again at the wrong shopping center.

During this time, Dibble ran a driver's license check on Rattanachanh's screen name and found four such people in Utah, one of who drove a black 2004 Volvo, according to the documents. Shortly after, such a car with matching license plates arrived at the shopping center in Spanish Fork. Police approached the car, at which point Rattanachanh told them he was there to see a movie with a friend.

Dibble informed him that he knew who he was and why he was there, at which point Rattanachanh was read his rights, records state. He then allegedly admitted to having the chat sessions but that he was only at the shopping center "to see what she looked like and drive back home." He had initially stopped in American Fork, forgetting the "girl" lived in Spanish Fork.

He also allegedly admitted to having sex with an adult he met in a chat room, but added that his wife didn't know about it, according to court documents.