Investigators say the suspect met the 13-year-old in The Woodlands, then started communicating with her.
HOUSTON — A 65-year-old man from The Woodlands is in jail after Harris County Precinct 4 deputies say he tried to arrange sex with a 13-year-old girl he had been messaging online. Harris County Precinct 4 Mark Hermann said he was known in the neighborhood as the “Candyman” because he gave candy out to children.
Constable Mark Herman said the case began Friday when a parent reported that her daughter had been receiving explicit messages from the man, identified as Brian Blaine. Investigators launched an undercover operation, taking over the girl’s phone and continuing communication with Blaine.
“Our undercover units took over her phone and began having a verbal dialogue with this individual where he agreed to have sex with her and basically was in the process of grooming this 13-year-old child,” Herman said.
According to Herman, Blaine agreed to meet the girl Friday evening at a local elementary school in north Harris County. Deputies arrested him in the parking lot when he arrived.
“He sincerely felt it was the 13-year-old girl that that he had been talking to, and, you know, it worked out for us and again just to get him off the streets and you know, get him, get him arrested was a is a good thing for our communities,” Herman said.
Blaine is charged with online solicitation of a minor and is being held on a $200,000 bond.
Investigators say the girl first encountered Blaine days earlier while walking with friends in The Woodlands’ Grogan Mill Villages subdivision in Montgomery County. Herman said Blaine was known among kids in that neighborhood.
“This individual is known as the ‘Candyman’ in that subdivision because he’s always giving candy out to kids and talking to kids and kids are always hanging out at his house,” Herman said.
Authorities are now working with Montgomery County Precinct 3 to determine whether there may be additional victims.
“We want to hear from you. We want, we want to talk to your kids at this point,” Herman said, urging parents to come forward if their children had contact with Blaine.
Investigators say there is no confirmed evidence of other victims at this time, but the investigation remains ongoing. Herman said the suspect could face significant prison time if convicted.
“He could be facing a long time in jail, up to 99 years,” he said.
Herman didn’t say what platform Blaine was communicating with the 13-year-old on.
Other “Candyman” cases
The “Candyman” nickname is commonly associated with an alleged serial killer named Dean Corll, who is linked to the deaths of dozens of boys in the Houston area in the 70s. He died in 1973. Another man, Ronald Clark O’Bryan was dubbed the “Candy Man” after poisoning Halloween candy and killing his son in 1974. He was put to death in 1984. There is no known connection between these cases and Blaine.
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