YOUNGSTOWN — Joseph M. Bell of Warren, 32, a former Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor, is expected to be arraigned this week in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield on a charge accusing him of trying to meet up with a 15-year-old girl for sex.

The encounter was actually an undercover sex sting carried out by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.

About 20 Mahoning County men were arrested, the sheriff’s office announced in early August, according to the Vindicator files. The operation took place in July and early August, but Bell was arrested Friday by the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit on one count of importuning and was taken to the Cuyahoga County jail.

Later Friday, he was transported to the Mahoning County jail, where he was booked and released on bond.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said Bell worked for the office in child support enforcement. The office terminated his employment when he was arrested, according to the Cleveland.com web site.

According to Bell’s LinkedIn page, he also worked 10 months as an assistant prosecutor for the Huron County Prosecutor’s Office in 2019 and 2020 and was an assistant public defender in Erie County for 10 months in 2018 and 2019.

He ran the Bell Law Firm for nine months in 2017 and 2018 to represent defendants in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, the web site states. He also listed several other jobs, such as substitute teacher in 2011 and 2012.