A man arrested on suspicion of attempting to solicit a minor for sex in Simpson County is scheduled to plead guilty later this month.

A change of plea hearing is set Dec. 13 in U.S. District Court for Aaron Schultz, 47, of Chattanooga.

Schultz has been charged with attempted online enticement of a minor and attempted travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Law enforcement arrested Schultz Aug. 4 in Simpson County as the result of an undercover investigation involving the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service and other Simpson County-based law enforcement agencies.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Schultz engaged in an online chat with someone who held themselves out to be a 14-year-old girl, sending sexually charged messages to someone who was actually an undercover police officer.

Schultz is accused of arranging to travel to Franklin with the intent to have sex with the purported juvenile.

An agent using a social media site on Aug. 3 matched with another user who identified himself as “Mark,” and who was later determined to be Schultz.

The initial chat conversation was made sexual in nature by Schultz, who expressed a desire to meet the juvenile in person and requested a telephone number as a separate means of communication and to confirm the person’s identity, the complaint said.

During the telephone conversation with what court records describe as a decoy, Schultz reiterated his desire to meet with the juvenile for sex.

On Aug. 4, Schultz and the undercover agent communicated via text message and a voice call about a meeting location, agreeing to meet at a restaurant in Franklin.

At that location, the undercover agent asked Schultz if he was “Mark” and, after Schultz confirmed that information, law enforcement attempted to arrest him.

“Schultz fled approximately 75-100 yards on foot when confronted by law enforcement,” the criminal complaint against Schultz said. “Only after stumbling and falling into a drainage area was Schultz apprehended … . While en route to the (Simpson County) Sheriff’s Office, Schultz asked the transporting trooper whether he was going to be sent to prison in Kentucky or Tennessee.”

During an interview with law enforcement Aug. 5, Schultz confirmed he traveled to Franklin for what he believed to be sex with a 14-year-old and told police they would find condoms and Plan B medication in his vehicle, the complaint said.

When questioned about previous sexual contact with any juveniles, Schultz acknowledged creating a fake profile on a social media dating application and was contacted by a 13-year-old with whom he later met and engaged in sexual acts on more than one occasion, recording one instance on video, the complaint said.

Schultz also reportedly confessed to improperly touching a fourth-grade girl about five years earlier while employed as a school nurse and to secretly video recording a second-grade student while she was using a private bathroom in the nurse’s office.

Attempted enticement of a minor carries a penalty of 10 years to life in prison, while attempted travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.