Peachtree City police arrested a Canton man at his dry-cleaning business Thursday morning for having explicit conversations online with an undercover police officer whom he thought was 13 years old, police said.

Officers moved quickly on the case against Mahesh Patel, 48, largely because there was a “real threat” that young girls may be in danger, said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray.

Murray called the conversation from Patel “the most graphic and explicit we’ve had to date” with any person arrested in the program. Patel is the 14th person arrested by the ongoing undercover operation, and he was charged with violation of the computer child pornography act.

At one point during the online conversation with the undercover officer, Patel sent the officer photos of his two children, who were clothed, Murray said.

Patel’s daughters, who are 5 and 7-years old, were questioned by officials from the Department of Family and Children Services, Murray said.

The Canton Police Department assisted in the arrest, and Peachtree City detectives collected evidence from Patel’s business, including a computer that had pornography on the screen at the time of the bust, Murray said.

As usual, Peachtree City got the blessing of Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard before proceeding with the arrest, Murray said. Although Patel didn’t try to meet the undercover officer in Peachtree City, the charges will be handled in Fayette Superior Court because the communications occurred with a computer that was located in Peachtree City, the chief added.

Murray has steadfastly warned parents to be aware of possible online predators. He suggests placing the family computer in a public viewing area so parents can keep a better eye on their childrens’ Internet activities. Some software products are available that log each and every keystroke entered on a computer.

Although news of the continuous undercover sting has been reported in the metro Atlanta media, local police are still having success with the program. Typically police have waited until a point in the investigation where the suspect wants to meet in person with the officer, but sometimes, as was the occasion with Patel, they are worried about a possible imminent danger and thus they act quickly to make an arrest, Murray added.

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