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TUPPER LAKE - A 23-year-old Long Island man was arrested Thursday on charges that he traveled to Tupper Lake and had sex with a girl under the age of 17 after having Internet chat and cell phone conversations with her.

Fahad Sultan was arrested at his residence in Levittown and charged with three counts of criminal sexual act in the third degree and two counts of rape in the third degree, both class E felonies, and endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

During the Internet and phone chats with the girl, Sultan agreed to travel to Tupper Lake, police said. He allegedly committed the offenses over the course of two days in July at an undisclosed hotel in Tupper Lake, then returned to his home on Long Island.

The case was originally a missing-person case; then the girl was brought in with parents and made the disclosure, said village police Chief Tom Fee, "which is a very difficult thing for a young girl to do."

The alleged victim reported the incidents, and village police investigated, assisted by the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit for the Northern Region, gathering digital and other evidence.

"There was an awful lot of legwork that was involved in this to make a good case against him," Fee said. "It was well put together. It was double-checked and triple-checked."

Southern Region CCU investigators, assisted by uniformed troopers, searched Sultan's residence, vehicle, computer and cell phone on a search warrant, then arrested him at about 7 a.m. Thursday. Members of the Tupper Lake Police Department met the Long Island state police detail in Albany, and Sultan was transported to Tupper Lake.

Fee said he appreciated the help his department got from the state police CCU.

"That is a highly overworked, little-recognized group of guys and girls that were just super with us," Fee said. "Real professionals."

He also acknowledged the work his own officers put into the case.

"Tupper Lake Police Department will continue to aggressively investigate these types of crimes and bring these perpetrators to justice," Fee said. "I hope we send a message out: Don't come to Tupper Lake, and don't do this anywhere. It's appalling."

When he arrived in Tupper Lake, Sultan was processed and arraigned in village court. Bail was set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond. He was remanded to the Franklin County Jail in Malone.

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Contact Jessica Collier at 891-2600 ext. 25 or jcollier@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.