BENSALEM, PA — A Bristol man has been taken into custody on charges related to an undercover child exploitation investigation after police discovered him hiding inside his residence.
According to the Bensalem Police Department, the investigation began on March 21, 2025, when 54-year-old George Shetzline allegedly initiated contact with what he believed to be a 12-year-old girl through a social media dating application. Authorities said Shetzline engaged in sexually explicit conversations despite the individual identifying herself as underage, and allegedly sent multiple inappropriate images, some including his face. Police further allege that he discussed meeting the child at the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem.
Investigators emphasized that no child was ever in danger, as the communications were part of a law enforcement operation. Following the exchange, detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging Shetzline with attempted unlawful contact with a minor, dissemination of explicit sexual material to minors, and criminal use of a communication facility.
Police later received a tip from a person reviewing Pennsylvania court records who discovered the active warrant. That individual informed Shetzline and advised him to surrender to police. However, authorities said he failed to do so. On September 30, Bensalem and Bristol Township officers went to Shetzline’s Park Avenue residence, where his girlfriend initially told officers he had left an hour earlier. A search of the home revealed Shetzline hiding behind a couch, and he was taken into custody without incident.
Police stated that hindering apprehension charges are pending against his girlfriend for allegedly concealing his whereabouts.
Shetzline was arraigned by District Justice Charles Jonas and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $750,000 bail.
All charges are allegations, and a suspect, arrestee, or defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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