Associate dean arrested after Internet sting

RENO - A community college associate dean was arrested Tuesday afternoon by investigators who posed as a 14-year-old girl on the Internet.

Richard F. Green, 39, who listed an address in Carson City, was booked into the Washoe County Jail on suspicion of felony use of technology to lure a child, two counts of gross misdemeanor open and gross lewdness, two counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon and one count of misdemeanor eluding.

Green, a Truckee Meadow Community College associate dean of vocational and technical education, had Internet conversations with an investigator posing as a 14-year-old girl, according to a statement from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office.

Deputy Michelle Youngs said intermittent contact was made with Green through the Internet by investigators over the course of a three-month investigation.

Tuesday at noon, Green was waiting in his vehicle at an undisclosed location in Reno for a prearranged rendezvous with the person he thought was a 14-year-old girl, police said. When the investigators attempted to arrest him, he nearly hit police with the vehicle in an attempt to escape, Youngs said.

Details of the allegations against Green were not made public.

Paula Lee Hobson, spokeswoman for the community college in North Reno, said Green has been with the college for seven years.

"We are surprised and saddened by the charges," she said Tuesday afternoon. "Unfortunately, we have no other information on the case and are waiting for the outcome of the sheriff's investigation."

She said Green has been placed on administrative leave.

Green's bail was set at $21,000.

Contact F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.