By Journal Staff

MARQUETTE — A Lake Linden man has been arraigned in the 96th District Court on various sex-related charges.

The Michigan State Police said in a news release that during an investigation regarding child sexual predators in the Upper Peninsula, troopers with the MSP Eighth District Hometown Security Team had contact on June 4 with a suspect from Houghton County.

During the investigation, a trooper with the team was posing as a minor, and a 43-year-old male from Lake Linden began conversing and soliciting to meet with the minor for sexual relations.

On June 16, a female trooper assisted as a decoy at a local Marquette Township establishment. Detectives conducted surveillance and observed the suspect pull into the parking lot of the establishment where the decoy was set up.

The suspect made contact with the decoy and requested the decoy to come out. The suspect exited his vehicle and began approaching the decoy’s location. As the suspect approached the decoy’s location, he was taken into custody.

The suspect, Erick John Alatalo, was arrested and lodged in the Marquette County Jail on a charge of accosting a child for immoral purposes, a charge of child sexually abusive activity and two charges of using a computer to commit a crime.

Alatalo was arraigned on Thursday and lodged at the Marquette County Jail.

Anyone with information regarding additional victims with this suspect or this area is asked to contact the MSP Eighth District Headquarters.

The Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team, MSP Negaunee Post troopers and detectives, MSP Canine Unit and the Eighth District Computer Crimes Unit assisted on the scene.