Mark Steven Astalos, a Detroit EMS veteran, pleaded not guilty and remains behind bars at the Macomb County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
He is facing seven felony counts mostly for child sexually abusive activity and child pornography possession.
On Wednesday night he allegedly went online posing as a single father and sent graphically-detailed descriptions of himself and what he wanted to do with the child, who was actually a detective. Astalos allegedly included a photograph of himself dressed in his paramedic uniform.
According to investigators, Astalos agreed to drive from his Brownstown Township home to Harrison Township to meet up with who he thought would be a 14-year-old girl. It turned out to be an undercover cop who took him into custody.
Prior to his arrest, Astalos had a solid record on the job as an EMT in Detroit. He received the Medal of Valor from the city for saving the life of a child in 2014.
Meanwhile, on Monday night the same task force arrested 59-year-old Larry Dean Privetts, of Romance, Ark. He lived and worked in Taylor, Mich. and agreed to meet the same detective, who was posing as a 14-year-old, with the intent to have sex in Harrison Township.
Privetts arrived in his pickup truck, investigators said, and ended up being arrested. He also faces child sexually abusive behavior charges and remains locked up in the Macomb County Jail. He was unable to post bond.