Law enforcement officers arrested a Summit County resident who allegedly engaged in sexual acts with a juvenile he met online.

Deputies arrested Thomas Vitalone, 52, on two counts of sexual assault, a felony, one count of criminal attempt to sexual assault, a felony, and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor, according to a news release from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

Vitalone allegedly met the juvenile on a social media app and had been messaging with the them through the app, the news release states. Detectives posing as the juvenile reportedly began communicating with Vitalone and set up a meeting, where he was arrested.

The Division of Child Welfare with the Colorado Department of Human Services referred the allegations to the Sheriff’s Office, according to the news release.

Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call Detective Sgt. Mark Gafari at 970-423-8960. 

If a person suspects a child may be sexually exploited, they can contact the Summit County Communications Center nonemergency number at 970-668-8600 or the national CyberTipline at 1-800-843-5678 or CyberTipline.org.