DALTON, Ga. — A 20-year-old Dalton man who was out on bond on a child molestation charge from September was arrested Monday here after officials said he arranged a meeting with what he thought was a 10-year-old girl. They began investigating him after learning he had chats on the computer “of a very obscene nature” with a minor in Massachusetts.

Instead, the meeting was with members of the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office working undercover online after getting a tip from the U.S. Secret Service of the obscene contact between the suspect and the juvenile in Massachusetts.

Dewayne Lee King, 20, of 213 Cheyenne Trail, was charged by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office with child molestation, furnishing obscene material to a minor and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Capt. Rick Swiney said the investigation began in Whitfield County on April 3 when the Secret Service, which works with the Department of Homeland Security on cyber crime investigations, contacted the sheriff’s office.

“They let us know there was someone in our jurisdiction who was surfing the internet looking for small children,” Swiney said. “He was having chats on the computer of a very obscene nature with a minor in Massachusetts. The family up there discovered what was going on.”

Swiney said investigators made contact with King on the internet posing as a 10-year-old. King had numerous chats with investigators where Swiney said he would try to get the “10-year-old” to meet him. On Monday, investigators arranged a meeting and King was arrested. Among the items seized was a red and white stuffed teddy bear.

King was arrested in September of last year after a Whitfield County Schools counselor alerted officials to “inappropriate touching” of a family member, according to an incident report.