An executive at Food Lion's corporate office was arrested Wednesday in a sting and charged with a sex offense.
Detectives from North Carolina's Hendersonville Police Department took Paul Robert LaCroix, 54, into custody following the investigation.
Lacroix, from Concord, has been charged with conspiracy to commit a first-degree statutory sex offense. He is being held in the Henderson County Detention Center under a $100,000 secured bond.
Investigators said LaCroix, a vice president with Food Lion, was communicating with who he thought was an underage girl online and attempted to meet her for sex, but the girl was a law enforcement officer, police said.
Officers are continuing their investigation after they took LaCroix's computers and cellphone.
A spokesperson for Food Lion confirmed that LaCroix was a vice president with the company and has been suspended immediately.
"Food Lion was recently made aware of the situation involving Paul LaCroix today. He was suspended immediately from the organization, pending further investigation," Food Lion said in a statement.
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