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UPDATED Jan. 12: The next court proceeding for an Arlington man facing a single charge of enticing a child under age 16 is now set for March.

The defendant is Nathan Goldshlag, 73, of Arlington. Goldshlag is known in Arlington as a member of the local chapter of Veterans for Peace, an antiwar group.

His attorney told YourArlington via email Jan. 12 that the next step in the case will be a status conference, currently scheduled for March 10.

Goldshlag was arraigned in Superior Court on Jan. 6, according to his lawyer, Boston-based attorney Henry Fasoldt. “He is facing one count of Enticement of a Child. 'Child' is defined as a person under 16,” Fasoldt told YourArlington.

The previous step in the court system was to have been a probable-cause hearing, Dec. 13 in district court; however, Fasoldt did not reply to YourArlington seeking confirmation as to whether that occurred. The pretrial conference did occur Nov. 8, as scheduled -- having been postponed from its original Oct. 8 date -- and was uneventful, according to Fasoldt. 

The charge against Goldshlag is regarded as a felony, according to Fasoldt.

Goldshlag was ordered in district court to be held on $5,000 bail Aug. 23 following an accusation that he came to Salem on Aug. 19 to meet what he allegedly thought was an underage girl — but actually was a pair of Salem police officers — to engage in sex. Goldshlag, pleaded not guilty to a single charge of enticing a child under age 16 at his arraignment in Salem District Court, the Salem News reported. Fasoldt has since told YourArlington that his client was released on the same bail amount that was imposed in district court.

'Kelly White'

Goldshlag was arrested on High Street in Salem as part of a police investigation that started with a post in a Boston-area dating forum on Reddit, a website comprising thousands of online community forums.

Goldshlag is accused of attempting to meet up with “Kelly White,” a 15-year-old Salem girl with a Reddit username of Kdubz978. In fact, the Salem News reported, “Kelly White” actually was two Salem police officers posing as the fictitious teen.

Salem police launched an investigation after Detective Thomas Shute, who the News reported is trained in stopping online predators, discovered a post made under the Reddit alias @Oldergy5 on Aug. 15 in an explicit Reddit forum, according to the News' summary of a police report.

Salem police told the Salem News that the account linked to Goldshlag has been deleted but that the fake “Kelly White” account used by police remained active as of Aug. 23.

After his arrest, the Salem News reported that Goldshlag “refused to answer if the username (the @Oldergy5 alias on Reddit) was his but goes on to tell us that he was set up by entrapment,” according to the police report.

In August, prosecutors initially sought $15,000 cash bail, the Salem News reported, but Fasoldt protested. Fasoldt is quoted as saying: “Mr. Goldshlag allegedly posted something on Reddit expressing his desire to perform a particular sex act. He didn’t ask for any young person to contact him. Instead, somebody from the Salem police responded and pretended to be a 15-year-old.”

Associate Justice Carol Ann Fraser set bail at $5,000 — $4,000 more than the $1,000 posted before Goldshlag's arraignment in District Court. At that time, Goldshlag was also ordered to stay away from and to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18, including any possible family members in that age group.

Capt. Richard Flynn, public-information officer for the Arlington Police Department, wrote in response to a YourArlington query posed Aug. 29: “The APD did not have this individual on its investigative radar in the light of the reported charges in Salem.”  

Attorney comments

In late August, Goldshlag's attorney, Fasoldt, told YourArlington the following via email:

“Mr. Goldshlag’s next court date is scheduled for Oct. 11, 2022. That is called a 'pre-trial conference.' On that date I [will] meet with the prosecutor to discuss the case. In addition, the prosecutor will provide us with more evidence. Mr. Goldshlag is a 72-year-old [U.S. military] veteran who is actively engaged in the community. Like all people charged by the government, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.” 

This news summary, based initially on a report in the Salem News and YourArlington files, was published Aug. 26, 2022. It was updated Aug. 28, 2022, with a statement from the defendant's attorney, updated Aug. 29, 2022, to add comment from Arlington police, updated Oct. 11, 2022, to state that the date of the pretrial conference had been changed from Oct. 11 to Nov. 8, and updated Dec. 22, 2022, to note that the next step now is expected in January. It was updated Jan. 12, 2023, to state that a status conference is set for March.