Marc P.C. Fossorier, 43, of Hawai'i Kai, an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, is the ninth man charged this year in Hawai'i for first-degree electronic enticement of a child as a result of sting operations conducted by the Hawai'i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said state Deputy Attorney General Albert Cook.

Fossorier's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. at District Court. The hearing process could be canceled should he be indicted instead by an O'ahu grand jury before then.

His bail is $50,000.

Fossorier was arrested yesterday at the McDonald's Pearl Kai restaurant at 98-147 Kamehameha Hwy. after he showed up for a pre-arranged meeting allegedly set up with a task force agent posing online as a 15-year-old girl.

If convicted, Fossorier could be sentenced up to 10 years in prison. The minimum sentence is five years probation with one year in jail.

A conviction would also require Fossorier to register as a sex offender.

Since its formation in 2004, the task force has captured 22 online predators in Hawai'i, said Cook.

Before the passage of a new law with tougher penalties in July 2006, those prosecuted were often granted deferred pleas and sentenced to either minimal jail time or probation with no requirement to register as sex offenders.

The new law ensures jail time and requires registration for convictions.

Thirteen cases, including Fossorier's, fall under the new law. Currently, two men who pleaded guilty and two others convicted by a jury are awaiting sentencing while a fifth man is already serving jail time, said Cook.

Nine arrests this year is the most for the task force, eclipsing the previous high of five in 2004.

Task force personnel represent HPD, the FBI, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, and state Department of the Attorney General.