American Airlines manager charged in sex sting involving 10-year-old

An American Airlines operations manager from Arlington has been arrested near Pittsburgh on charges he arranged sex with a woman and a 10-year-old girl and sent sexually explicit messages.

Prosecutors say Ray Howland, 55, was actually communicating with an undercover agent.

Howland was charged Friday with criminal attempt to commit rape of a child and other offenses. He's jailed in Pennsylvania on $150,000 bail pending a July 7 hearing. An attorney isn't listed for him.

Arlington police said its crimes against children detectives have not been notified of the case and do not have any ongoing case with Howland in Arlington.

Investigators in Pennsylvania were investigating if there were any other families Howland tried to meet.

"Just don't understand it," said Geneice Sherman, neighbor of suspect. No one answered the door to Howland's home when FOX4 knocked.

American Airlines issued a statement Monday saying it holds its employees to the highest of ethical standards and is cooperating with authorities in this investigation.

Howland was involved in American's response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Transcripts show Howland telling panicked Boston employees to keep quiet about the Flight 11 hijacking minutes before the jetliner struck the World Trade Center. He's mentioned in the footnotes of the 9/11 Commission report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.