LOWELL — A multi-agency law enforcement sting that police say was aimed at “reducing the demand of child commercial sexual exploitation” led to the arrests of two men accused of arranging to meet what they believed was a 15-year-old for sex at a Lowell hotel.

According to a Lowell Police incident report, Marciel Neto, 45, of Lowell, and David Passacantilli, 53, of Reading, each responded to an online commercial sex advertisement and separately arranged to meet someone they believed was an underage teenage girl.

Instead, police said the men were actually communicating with an undercover officer as part of the operation, which aside from the Lowell Police Department’s Special Investigations Section, included the State Police High Risk Victim Unit and the Chelmsford Police Department.

Neto and Passacantilli were charged with enticing a child under 16, paying for sexual conduct with a child under 18, and attempting to commit a felony crime, with the crime identified as rape of a child.

In both cases, investigators posted an online advertisement for a fictitious escort and waited for responses to the listed phone number.

According to police, an individual later identified as Neto texted the number on Wednesday and initiated a conversation that investigators said turned sexual in nature.

After a price of $120 to $130 was agreed upon — depending on use of a condom — the undercover officer allegedly clarified with Neto that the person he believed he was speaking with was 15 years old.

According to the incident report, the undercover officer told Neto, “im a lil younger than my ad .. hope ur cool with that,” to which Neto allegedly replied, “im good bby.”

With the age established as 15, Neto allegedly continued the conversation and agreed to meet at a hotel on Industrial Avenue East, where officers had prepared a decoy room.

When he arrived, he was taken into custody.

Investigators said Neto agreed to speak with them afterward, stating he had been communicating with someone on “Skip the Games” — which the incident report states is “a commonly used website in the commercial sex industry” — and had come to the hotel expecting sexual contact.

Police said he had $351 in cash at the time of his arrest.

His phone was seized pending a search warrant.

When Passacantilli responded to the fictitious escort advertisement on Wednesday, the undercover agent told him that the person he believed he was communicating with was 15 — “almost 16” — and not 19 as the ad had stated, according to the report.

Police said Passacantilli indicated that was acceptable.

Passacantilli then allegedly asked whether the person he was talking to was affiliated with law enforcement or any federal agency. The undercover officer replied that she was not.

After agreeing to pay $100 for sexual contact, Passacantilli went to the hotel on Industrial Avenue East, where authorities took him into custody.

Police said he had $883 in cash on him at the time.

Like Neto, Passacantilli spoke with investigators afterward. He told police he had reached out through the website Skip the Games and had contacted more than one advertisement that night.

“He stated he was interested in a quick visit and forgot what the price was and what the act was,” police said in the report.

His cellphone was also seized pending a search warrant.

The two men were arraigned in Lowell District Court on Thursday, at which time they were both released on their own recognizance.

As part of their release conditions, both men were ordered to have no contact with minors. Neto — who, according to court documents, required a Portuguese-speaking interpreter during his arraignment — was additionally ordered to surrender his passport.

They are scheduled to return to court for a probable cause hearing on April 16.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurts, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.