Man arrested for allegedly offering Elyria teenager cash for sex

A North Carolina man is in custody after he allegedly propositioned a teenage girl for sex in Elyria on Friday morning. Ricky Allan Vankerkhove, 69, was being held in the Lorain County Jail after he was accused of pulling up alongside a 14-year-old girl on West Avenue and offering her $2,000 to have sex with him. Elyria police were informed of the alleged incident and took to Facebook, posting a picture of Vankerkhove along with his vehicle, a silver Toyota Tacoma, and license plate and asking the public to contact the department if he was spotted. Along with the public, a call was put out to other law enforcement agencies and the suspect vehicle was spotted heading south on state Route 301. State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Francway said that troopers from the Elyria Post were able to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle near Route 301 and Webster Road at the border of LaGrange Township and Penfield Township. Vankerkhove, who lives in Pineola, North Carolina, was taken into custody and handed over to Elyria police when they arrived at the scene. Vankerkhove was charged with importuning and felonious assault, both felonies. He is being held at the Lorain County Jail with no bond until his initial court appearance, which has been set for Monday morning in Elyria Municipal Court. Elyria police said in its Facebook post that sightings of Vankerkhove had been reported across northern Ohio from Toledo to Lorain in the past few days. Just before 10 a.m. Friday, a woman posted on Facebook saying that she was the mother of the teenager who was approached by Vankerkhove. The Chronicle is not naming her because her daughter is the victim of an alleged sex crime. She said that her daughter was walking on Birch Street headed to a bus stop to be taken to an early college education course. The mother and daughter were speaking over the phone on FaceTime when a man in a Toyota Tacoma allegedly pulled alongside the teenager and offered her $2,000 to have sex with him. The teenager was able to take a picture of the truck, the license plate and the man, who was wearing the same clothes as the man arrested and identified by police as Vankerkhove. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.