A Proctorville man is in jail after allegedly sending inappropriate pictures to a juvenile through a social media website.

According to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, a 9-year-old girl from Lawrence County allegedly received a friend request through Facebook from a 36-year-old stranger.

Shortly after accepting the friend request, the girl allegedly started getting sexually explicit messages and photographs. The young girl then showed the messages and pictures to her parents, who reported the activity to the sheriff’s department.

Jonathon Cole, of 488 Township Road 1105, was interviewed by detectives. Cole also gave consent for authorities to search his cell phone and Facebook user information.

Cole was charged with disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, a fourth-degree felony. He will be arraigned in Lawrence County Municipal Court on Friday.

“I urge parents to constantly monitor the computer activities of their children,” Sheriff Jeff Lawless said. “This is a prime example of the people who are lurking in cyberspace that are trying to take advantage of our young children.”

The investigation is ongoing.