Accused 'Web predators' from Bucks, Chesco jailed

Two Philadelphia-area men identified as "Web predators" were arrested Tuesday, the state Attorney General's Office announced yesterday.

Francis J. Smith, 62, of Bensalem, and Bobby W. Mundell, 32, of Coatesville, both initiated communication in online chat rooms with what they thought were 14-year-old girls but who were actually undercover agents, a news release said. Both men also sent sexually explicit Webcam videos to the agents, the release said.

Smith was arraigned before Bensalem Magisterial District Judge Leonard J. Brown on charges that include unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a computer; he was remanded to Bucks County Correctional Facility after failing to post $500,000 bail. Mundell, arraigned by Wayne Magisterial District Judge Jeremy Blackburn on similar charges, was taken to Chester County Prison with bail set at $75,000, the release said.

The release said the arrests were made by the Child Predator Unit, created in 2005 to capture Internet predators before they can harm children. To date, the unit has made 132 arrests, including 64 over the last 12 months, the release said.

- Kathleen Brady Shea