CRANBERRY TWP — A Pittsburgh man is accused of soliciting sex on the Internet from an agent with the state attorney general's office posing as a teenage girl.

Authorities on Tuesday arrested Daniel Eric Stephens, 43, in the parking lot of a township restaurant, where he had driven allegedly to meet the 13-year-old girl.

A box of condoms were inside the defendant's van, according to court documents. Police said Stephens had bought the condoms an hour before he was arrested.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Stephens on charges of attempted unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility.

The defendant, who is married with a 12-year-old child, remains in the Butler County Prison on $25,000 bond.

The case began Jan. 22 when an undercover agent with the attorney general's Child Predator Unit went online posing as a 13-year-old girl from Cranberry.

A user with the screen name "thadiusbluster" approached the girl by way of a chat room. Authorities later identified Stephens as the user.

When the girl asked the defendant how old he was, documents said, the defendant replied:"Old enough to be your dad ... I have a daughter your age, too."

The next day, the defendant was back online chatting with the same office he believed was the same 13-year-old girl, authorities said.

Before long, Stephens began describing specific sexual acts and later asked if she wanted to have sex, according to documents.

He said if she was interested, "I guess I have to get a motel. ... or bring you here to my house. ... or when your mom isn't home," a police affidavit said.

On Tuesday, the defendant allegedly initiated a third online conversation and again suggested sex acts with the girl.

He told the child they could meet that evening at a Cranberry restaurant, which police did not identify.

Authorities said Stephens about 5:30 p.m. drove up to the restaurant in the van as state agents watched nearby. He texted messaged the girl that he was there.

The child indicated she had not seen him and told Stephens where to find her. As the defendant walked across the parking lot, state agents and Cranberry police officers arrested him.

Authorities said Stephens admitted having online conversations with the child from his Pittsburgh home, documents say.