CARIBOU – A Washburn man who allegedly solicited sex over the Internet was arrested Friday after arriving in Caribou for what he thought would be a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old local girl.

What Joel Clark, 46, got instead, was a trip to jail after Caribou Officer Stephanie Beaulieu, who posed as his intended victim, greeted him at 3 p.m. Friday at a prearranged location on Bennett Drive, according to primary investigating Officer Kevin St. Peter of the Caribou Police Department.

Clark has been charged in connection with attempted gross sexual assault, dissemination of sexually explicit material and solicitation of a child by computer to commit a prohibited act.

He is being held on $5,000 cash bail or $50,000 double surety. St. Peter said Clark likely will make his initial court appearance early this week, but was unsure at which court.

Police said Clark contacted the girl on March 24 by e-mail, soliciting sex after surfing the Internet and finding her profile on MSN.

The girl’s mother learned of the e-mail and notified police. After an exchange of several sexually explicit e-mails and chat room sessions between the mother, who pretended she was her daughter, and Clark, police were able to trace the e-mail back to the Washburn man. The mother, again pretending it was her daughter who was responding, agreed to rendezvous with Clark on Friday.

The young girl told police that Clark also solicited sex over the Internet with another local girl. This 15-year-old girl told police that Clark had sent her child pornography, St. Peter said.

A search warrant was executed at Clark’s Washburn home at 6 p.m. Friday, and police seized a computer and related equipment.

St. Peter is asking parents whose children may have submitted profiles to MSN to check to see whether they received any e-mails asking for discreet sexual partners and to notify police if they find such e-mails.