LAPLACE — A local man admitted to posting a fictitious ad on Craigslist, inviting random men to participate in a group sexual encounter with a St. John the Baptist Parish woman, police said.

St. John Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested LaPlace’s Stephen Kropog, 40, on Friday, charging him with cyber stalking, online impersonation and two counts of possession of steroids.

As of Tuesday morning, Kropog was being held at the St. John Parish Correctional Center in lieu of a $21,000 bond.

Sheriff’s Office detectives learned on May 20 that Kropog posted an ad to Craigslist inviting people to participate in a group sexual encounter at the female victim’s residence.

Detective Michael Shard told L’OBSERVATEUR authorities are not releasing where the victim lived or her family makeup because of her privacy and wishes.

On May 22, authorities said, a man responded to the ad, showing up at the victim’s home. The victim told detectives she was completely unaware of what was going on, adding when she questioned the man about the ad, he left her residence.

The victim was unharmed, and detectives do not believe the man who went to the victim’s residence is connected to the ad posting.

“As far as I am aware, no other similar crime with Craigslist has been reported (in St. John Parish,)” Shard said. “I am conducting further research for any nexus in the metro area.”

Following the investigation, detectives executed a search warrant at Kropog’s home in the 100 block of Tammy Drive and arrested Kropog without incident.

“For investigative reasons and security and police procedure, I can’t release how the information during our investigation was obtained,” Shard said. “I can say that based on current technology, when investigating electronic crimes, investigators rely on training and other established methods for cases such as this, including any computer address for uploaded material.”

Shard previously said he contacted Craigslist and, based on the case’s and victim’s well-being, received information from the classified advertisements website showing the information uploaded to Craigslist originated from an IP address out of the St. John the Baptist Parish area.

Authorities said Kropog told detectives he posted the ad as revenge for an ongoing conflict with the victim. Shard said the conflict was related to an intra-family dispute, adding “I can’t say further due to the nature of the case investigation.”

According to Shard, authorities believe only one unknown individual responded to the victim’s home, adding further investigation may reveal other information.

Authorities said the suspect’s steroid possession charge is based on items discovered during the course of the investigation and subsequent arrest last week at his residence.

Authorities ask residents who know of similar incidents to report them to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office TIPS line at 985-359-TIPS or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.