The Lake City Police Department announced Tuesday an undercover operation through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that resulted in the arrest of a Lake Butler man.

Union County sheriff’s deputies arrested Antonio Woodrow Edwards, 33, in coordination with the police department. Edwards faces charges of using a computer to seduce/ solicit/ lure a child, transmit information harmful to minors and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.

Lake City Police Chief Gerald Butler thanked the Union County Sheriff’s Office for its cooperation in finding and arresting Edwards.

“Individuals who use the internet to target children often believe they can hide behind a screen and avoid accountability,” Butler said in a release. “Our detectives remain committed to identifying these offenders, building strong cases against them, and working with our law enforcement partners to bring them into custody.”

Detectives with the Lake City Police Department posted undercover advertisements on a website commonly used to arrange sexual encounters, a press release said. As part of the operations, the detectives messaged several individuals while pretending to be female minors.

The release said Edwards engaged in sexually explicit conversations with individuals he believed to be minors, including sending photos of himself.

The police department drafted an arrest warrant after developing probable cause, and the State Attorney’s Office reviewed the warrant which was signed by a judge.