BG man arrested in child predator sting

FOSTORIA – A Bowling Green man was arrested in a child predator sting Friday. Crowe The Fostoria Police Department arrested Kevin Crowe, 27, of Bowling Green in an undercover operation. The Internet Crimes Against Children investigation was led by Fostoria Police Officer Kyle Reinbolt, according to a press release from police. Crowe traveled to Fostoria under the impression he was meeting with a juvenile for sexual conduct, police said. "This operation/investigation was very quick, taking less than one day, resulting in Mr. Crowe's arrest," said Fostoria police Chief Gabe Wedge. "Arresting officers reported finding a Lake High School Track Coach ID on Mr. Crowe's person. As of this time, Mr. Crowe's affiliation with the said school has not been confirmed." Crowe is being charged with importuning and attempted sexual conduct with a minor. "With the prior information/news release from last week, I want to use this time clear up a few things; first, the Fostoria police will continue to do these operations no matter the sentencing imposed by the courts, it is our duty to put these people in front of the judge with the best case possible, the courts and prosecutors take it from there. Remember the courts system has guidelines to follow set by (state law) when handling these cases; it cannot be done by personal opinion. One of the most important results of these cases is bringing these individuals out into the eye of the public and having them registered as sex offenders," Wedge explained in the release. "Second, these crimes against children are not isolated to the city of Fostoria, it is the result of officer Reinbolt making these types of investigations his focus, of which he has perfected his techniques in conducting them. These crimes are happening in every city in the country, so a better question to ask, instead of "why are all these happening in Fostoria," is "are these types of investigations being conducted where I live." Because the bottom line is, that they should be. Today's children face more everyday challenges than ever before, the Fostoria Police Department will continue to go after these people, in hopes of removing these predators from our children's lives, or at the very least, let them know who these people really are." "Lastly, in all of these investigations that have occurred, these subjects were arrested as soon as we could, some in as little as a couple of hours after our initial contact online with them. The said 10-month investigation timeline, was used as a measurement of how long the Fostoria Police Department conducted these investigations without publicly posting anything; in hopes of investigating and apprehending as many of these predators as possible, before word got out and compromised our efforts."