Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday Part 12
SO, here’s another round-up of sickos who got caught using the Internet to try and lure young kids for sex. These are all prime examples of why it is so important to be aware of what your kids are doing online, where they are going and who they are talking to. You can use parental control and monitoring software like our PC Pandora to keep YOUR kids safe!
Here’s a summary of the stories below:
- A 31-year-old man from Massachusettes contacted a real 13-year old girl and eventually started asking for sex. The girl, thankfully, told her parents, who got he cops involved, who took over the girl’s account and arrested the man…
- A 64-year-old man in Pennsylvania posed as a 26-year-old in a chat room and approached what he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex, after sending him nude pictures of himself. The young girl was really an undercover officer…
- A 22-year-old Kansas man was sentenced 3 years probation – as opposed to 5 years in prison – after soliciting what he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex. The judge ordered probation because there was no “real “ victim and the man changed his mind and tried to leave before committing any crime – and before he knew police were closing in. So, while this may seem fair in a court of law, how does it seem to parents?
- Two Pennsylvania men, ages 28 and 37, were arrested as a result of an online sting operation. The two men both had numerous conversations with what they thought was a 14-year-old girl. They also sent nude photos, and one of them even sent a video of himself masturbating.
Here are the full stories and their links…
Norton police arrest Lynn man for child enticement
Thu Jul 31, 2008
Norton – A Lynn man was arrested Thursday, July 31 on charges of child enticement with help from the Norton police, according to police.
On July 31, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Norton detectives, along with officers from Lynn Police Department and the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Counsel Computer Crime Unit served an arrest warrant and search warrant at 62 Verdmont Ave., Lynn.
Arrested by Norton police was Robert C Walsh III, 31 of 62 Verdmont Ave., Lynn. Walsh was arrested on a warrant charging him with child enticement. Seized in the search were several computers from the residence.
The investigation, lead by Norton Detective Det. Todd Bramwell began last month when Walsh allegedly contacted a 13-year-old victim via the Internet in a chat room. The victim notified her mother, who then contacted the Norton police.
Police then assumed control of the victim’s account and had conversations with Walsh, leading to his arrest.
Assisting Bramwell in the investigation was Det. Sgt. Thomas Petersen, Detective Steve Desfosses and members of Metropolitan Law Enforcement Counsel Computer Crime Unit.
Walsh is being held at the Norton Police Station until arraignment at Attleboro District Court Friday, Aug. 1.
Child enticement is a five-year felony.
Norton police would like to remind all parents that discussing Internet safety with all children is very import. Follow these important tips:
- Explain to your child that the Internet is public and that anyone may gain access to information that he or she posts on it.
- Discuss Internet risks with your child and set clear expectations about the steps that he or she will take to stay safe online.
- Engage your child in frequent discussions about how s/he uses the Internet and his or her online experiences.
- Remind your child that visitors to social networking sites often disguise their identity.
- View any page your child has set up on a social networking site to make certain that its content does not compromise your child’s safety or the safety of others.
- Know your children’s passwords, screen names, and account information.
- Put the computer in a family area of the household and do not permit private use.
Man charged with sending sex photos to girl
By Lindsay Redding, Bucks County Courier Times
An Upper Gwynedd man was arrested Wednesday on charges he used the Internet to proposition and send nude videos and pictures to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
That 13-year-old girl was actually an undercover agent from Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett’s Child Predator Unit.
Corbett said the suspect, Henry F. Campbell, 64, of Hazelwood Drive, posed as a 26-year-old male in a chat room, using the screen name “fludcamp.” Authorities said Campbell, a retired chemist and liquor store clerk, approached the undercover agent, who was using the online profile of a 13-year-old girl.
Within minutes of the initial contact, Campbell used a Web cam to send the “girl” nude images of himself performing sexual acts in front of his computer, according to the Attorney General’s office.
Campbell allegedly sent more sexually explicit photos and Web cam videos and suggested the target perform sexual acts. He eventually proposed to meet the girl for sex, Corbett said.
In a press release, Corbett stressed that Campbell sent the first explicit images within minutes of initiating contact with the agent.
“It is vital for parents to understand how quickly online conversations can turn into sexually explicit content,” Corbett said. “As in this case, predators often begin a sexually graphic discussion within minutes of contacting a child, and many suspects transmit nude photos or explicit videos during their first online meeting.”
Campbell was arrested at his home Wednesday by agents of the Child Predator Unit, assisted by the Upper Gwynedd Township police department.
His arrest is the 154th arrest by the unit, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Campbell is charged with two counts of unlawful contact with a minor (related to the webcam performances), one count of criminal attempted unlawful contact with a minor and one count of criminal use of a computer. All are third-degree felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 in fines.
Campbell was arraigned before Blue Bell Magisterial District Judge John S. Murray. Bail was set at $75,000 and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 7.
Suspected Internet predators can be reported to the Attorney General’s Office by calling the child predator hotline, 1-800-385-1044, or at www.attorneygeneral.gov.
Cyberwatch Criminal Gets Probation
By Brian Quick, WIBW reporter
A judge departs from sentencing guidelines and places a man charged in an online sting on probation.
The man is accused of trying to solicit sex with a child he believed to be under the age of 16.
22-year-old Brandon Mason was sentenced three years probabtion — as opposed to five years in prison. He believed he was soliciting a 14-year-old girl named “Angel”.
The person he was chatting with was actually 38-year-old Nikki Delaney, who works with U.S. Cyberwatch, a group that tries to catch online predators.
One of the reasons Judge Jan Leuenberger decided to depart was because there was no “real” victim — just an adult woman posing as a victim.
The judge also said Mason changed his mind and tried to leave before committing any crime — and before he knew police were closing in.
The judge determined Mason was not a pedophile — but was however, clinically depressed. Another factor was Mason’s family support.
The judge did make clear the court is in no way critical of U.S. Cyberwatch’s actions — but did note that in this case, the “victim” did actively seek out mason online.
Police: 2 Internet predators nabbed in undercover operation
Two Pennsylvania men are facing felony charges relating to an Internet sex predator sting led by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests Monday of Robert Montgomery Payne, 28, of King of Prussia, Pa., and Larry Lee Smeltz, 37, of Fredericksburg, Pa.
Police said Payne engaged in numerous sexual conversations with an undercover officer whom he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He allegedly sent three photographs of his genital area and a video of himself masturbating between July 16 and Aug. 1.
Police said Payne made plans to meet the fictitious teen off of Exit 20 on the New York State Thruway. On Aug. 1, police said, he parked his vehicle in the Price Chopper parking lot off of Ulster Avenue and called the undercover officer to meet him at a gas station across the street.
He was arrested there by members of the Sheriff’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, investigators from the county District Attorney’s Office and members of the state police Bureau of Criminal Identification in Kingston.
Payne was charged with felony first-degree attempted disseminating indecent materials to a minor. He was arraigned in Town of Ulster Court and sent to Ulster County Jail on $10,000 bail. He made bail and reappeared in Kingston City Court Monday, when his case was adjourned until Aug. 18, court officials said.
Smeltz is due in front of an Ulster County grand jury next month on similar charges.
On July 27, he was arrested in the Town of Ulster on felony first-degree disseminating indecent material to a minor.
He is accused of engaging in numerous sexual conversations with and sending a partially nude photograph of himself to a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl in July.
Two days before his arrest, Smeltz allegedly made arrangements to meet with the teen at a local movie theater to see a movie, and then to head to the girl’s residence to have sexual intercourse.
Smeltz was arrested at the movie theater, arraigned in Town of Ulster Court and sent to Ulster County Jail on $25,000 bail. He made bail and is due in court Sept. 11.
Members of the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force assisted the Sheriff’s Office with carrying out a search warrant at Smeltz’s home, which yielded his personal computers, computer disc and a digital camera.
In both cases, the Sheriffs Office worked closely with the county District Attorney’s Office and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force members from Pennsylvania and from the state police unit in Middletown.
