Pandora's Blog

Wow! What a week! You’re not going to believe some of the stories that have come across my desk. Truly, if you really still need proof that these guys exist and are trying to get to your kids, you have a VERY THICK SKULL!

It is imperative that you watch and monitor what your kids do online. If you aren’t doing so, you are tossing your kid to the wolves! (Literally)

• A 41-year-old police officer in Utah has been arrested in an Internet sting where he propositioned someone he thought was a 15-year-old boy for sex.
• Another man from Utah, a 33-year-old, was arrested for having sex with a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl met through his MySpace page. You gotta read the story below about this guy!!
• Attorney General Corbett in PA is at is again! This time, his office arrested 5 internet predators – including a 39-year-old man who propositioned HIS OWN DAUGHTER on Facebook for sex! The other arrests included a 22-year-old paralegal, a 27-year-old EMT, a 27-year-old truck driver and a 42-year-old self-employed salesman.

Here are the full stories…

October 8, 2009
Layton man who is WVC cop arrested in Internet sting
By Loretta Park and Tim Gurrister (Standard-Examiner staff)

LAYTON — A Layton man who works as a police officer in West Valley City has been jailed after police said an Internet sting caught him propositioning someone he thought was a 15-year-old boy.

Douglas L. Paulsen, 41, was arrested Tuesday at the Layton Hills Mall at a rendezvous he had arranged with a police detective posing as the 15-year-old boy online.

Paulsen was booked into Davis County Jail and held without bail.

Paulsen is a school resource officer at Hunter High School in West Valley City. Such officers are assigned an office in schools to counsel teens in avoiding high-risk behaviors as a means of crime prevention.

Paulsen appeared before Judge John R. Morris in 2nd District Court in Farmington on Wednesday, charged with six third-degree felony counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor and one count of class A misdemeanor enticing a minor over the Internet.

The sting involved a Layton police detective who created an online identity as a 15-year-old boy, said Police Lt. Quinn Moyes. Paulsen e-mailed the detective a number of pornographic materials, Moyes said, then agreed to meet “the boy” at the mall.

The sting operation was part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, an ongoing effort between local police and the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

Officers spend four- and six-hour shifts trolling the Internet, posing as underage male and female teens, to attract online predators. Most arrests have been of males.

In Paulsen’s case, said Police Sgt. Jason Hinjosa, “The adult subject negotiated with the detective to meet at the mall. The plan was to travel from there to another location to engage in a sex act.”

The correspondence between Paulsen and the undercover detective began in early September, he said.

Hinojosa said Paulsen was arrested at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday at the mall. “He did not resist arrest.”
On the rarity of ICAC arresting one of their own, Hinojosa said, “It happens every once in a while.”

A felony conviction typically ends a policeman’s career, resulting in loss of certification from the state’s Police Officer Standards and Training division.

October 8, 2009
Man pleads guilty to sex with girl met on MySpace

A sex offender from Utah has pleaded guilty to having sex with a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl met through his MySpace page.

Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi ordered a presentence investigation Thursday for Joseph L. Hickerson, 33, of Salt Lake City, who had given the girl a fake name and told her he was 17, then 19, then 25.

The criminal complaint says police found sexually explicit pictures of the girl and other children on a CD among Hickerson’s belongings when they arrested him in June in the town of Stoughton, near Madison.

The complaint says police found him with the 14-year-old when they were investigating a report of suspicious people with sleeping bags at an elementary school playground. He claimed at the time to be 16. He tried to run but a citizen tackled him.

October 11th, 2009
AG Announces Multiple Internet Predator Arrests

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the recent arrest of five Internet predators, including a Lancaster County man accused of using Facebook to sexually proposition his biological daughter, an EMT from Philadelphia who sent nude photos and pornography to what he believed were 13-year old girls and a delivery truck driver from Pittsburgh accused of exposing himself to undercover agents via webcam and asking the “girls” if they had any friends online who would be interested in seeing nude videos.

Corbett identified the defendants as:

• John Christopher Forehand, 39, Lititz, Lancaster County.
• Timothy A. Gehres, 22, Donaldson, Schuykill County.
• Frank W. Bonacci, 27, Pittsburgh.
• Michael Edward Quartucci, 27, Philadelphia.
• Timothy D. Anderson, 42, Lancaster.

“Predators know that colder weather and shorter days mean that kids are spending more time inside, in front of their computers, and that many may be home alone – either before or after school,” Corbett said. “As we have seen in a number of cases this year, including two of these most recent arrests, predators are reaching out to real families in Pennsylvania – and tips from those families are resulting in arrests.”

Corbett noted that the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit has arrested 241 Internet predators since it was created in January 2005. He added that agents have made 60 arrests so far this year – a nearly 20 percent increase compared to 2008.

“It is extremely important for parents to regularly discuss online safety with their children and to encourage kids to immediately report any situation where someone sexually propositions them, sends explicit photos or videos, or tries to arrange a meeting,” Corbett said.

John C. Forehand
Corbett said that Forehand, of Lititz, allegedly used the Facebook social networking website to locate and sexually proposition his own biological daughter – calling himself “Bad Daddy.”

According to the criminal complaint, Forehand proposed meeting the girl for sex and explained the graphic detail the sex acts, telling her, “not many other fathers and daughters are this brave, so not many of them are so lucky to experience all these pleasures.”

Corbett said the girl alerted her mother, who contacted the Ephrata Borough Police Department. Ephrata detectives, who had assisted the Child Predator Unit on an earlier investigation, then alerted the Attorney General’s Office.

Agents from the Child Predator Unit and Ephrata Police arrested Forehand when he arrived at a predetermined meeting location on October 7th.

Agents seized a camera, tripod and an unopened box of condoms from Forehand’s vehicle, along with a digital camera, camcorder, computers and data storage devices from his home. Those items will be analyzed by the Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit as part of an ongoing investigation.

Forehand is charged with one count of unlawful contact with a minor (related to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse), a first-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Forehand is also charged with one count of criminal attempted incest and one count of unlawful contact with a minor (related to statutory sexual assault), both second degree felonies which are each punishable by up to ten years in prison and $25,000 fines, along with one count of criminal use of a computer, a third-degree felony which is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Forehand was lodged in the Lancaster County Jail in lieu of $400,000 straight bail awaiting a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Jene Willwerth.

Corbett thanked the Ephrata Borough Police Department, Warwick Township Police Department and Lancaster County Constables for their cooperation and assistance with this investigation.

Michael E Quartucci
Corbett said that Quartucci, an emergency medical technician from Philadelphia, is accused of sending nude photos and pornography to what he believed were 13-year old girls from Norristown and Pittsburgh. The “girls” were actually undercover agents from the Child Predator Unit using the online profiles of children.

According to the criminal complaint, Quartucci repeatedly discussed his desire to meet the girls. Quartucci also allegedly sent a total of 56 digital photos to the girls, showing nude women being restrained and tickled – activity that he proposed they engage in.

Quartucci was arrested in Philadelphia on September 14th and transported to Montgomery County, where criminal charges were filed.

Quartucci is charged with 16 counts of unlawful contact with a minor (related to obscene or sexual materials) and one count of criminal use of a computer, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.

Quartucci waived his preliminary hearing and is awaiting formal arraignment in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. Bail was set at $25,000.

Corbett thanked the Philadelphia Police Department for their cooperation and assistance with this investigation.

Timothy A Gehres
Corbett said that Gehres, a paralegal from Donaldson, Schuykill County, allegedly used Internet chat rooms to approach two agents who were using the undercover identities of 13-year old girls from Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

According to the criminal complaint, Gehres sent several webcam videos that showed him nude and engaging in sexual activity in front of his computer. Gehres also repeatedly urged the girls to meet him for sex.

Gehres was arrested on September 23rd by agents from the child Predator Unit, assisted by Tremont Police and Pennsylvania State Police.

Gehres is charged with ten counts of unlawful contact with a minor (related to obscene or sexual materials) and one count of criminal use of a computer, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.

Gehres was lodged in the Schuylkill County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail pending a preliminary hearing on October 29th.

Frank W. Bonacci
Corbett said that Bonacci, a delivery truck driver from Pittsburgh, is accused of using Internet chat rooms to sexually proposition what he believed were two 13-year old girls from Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.

According to the criminal complaint, Bonacci repeatedly exposed himself via webcam and asked if they knew any other girls online that he could communicate with. Bonacci is also accused of sending the girls Internet links to adult pornographic videos as examples of the sex acts he wished to perform with them.

Bonacci was arrested on September 16th by agents from the Child Predator Unit and transported to Dauphin County to face criminal charges.

Bonacci is charged with five counts of unlawful contact with a minor (related to obscene or sexual materials) and one count of criminal use of a computer, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.

Bonacci was lodged in the Dauphin County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, awaiting a preliminary hearing on November 18th.

Timothy D. Anderson
Corbett said that Anderson, a self-employed computer salesman from Lancaster, allegedly used text messages to sexually proposition a 14-year old Lancaster County girl after finding the girl’s cell phone number on the MySpace social networking website.

Corbett said the girl alerted her parents about the suspicious messages and her parents then contacted Pennsylvania State Police from the Ephrata Barracks.

State troopers, working with the Child Predator Unit, arrested Anderson when he arrived at a prearranged meeting location in Ephrata on September 11th. At the time of his arrest Anderson was allegedly carrying condoms and an all-day bus pass that he has promised to purchase for the girl so they could both return to his residence in Lancaster.

Anderson is charged with one count of unlawful contact with a minor (related to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse), a first-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Anderson is also charged with one count of unlawful contact with a minor (related to statutory sexual assault), a second degree felony punishable by up to ten years in prison and $25,000 fine, along with one count of criminal use of a computer, a third-degree felony which is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Anderson was released on $100,000 bail awaiting a preliminary hearing on Oct. 29.

Corbett thanked the Pennsylvania State Police and Ephrata Borough Police for their cooperation and assistance with this investigation.

Internet Safety
“Parents need to understand that Internet predators are active in every part of our state – using online chat rooms, social networking sites, instant messages, digital cameras, webcams and other technology to reach into your homes – sending sexually graphic material to your kids, encouraging teens to send nude photos of themselves or trying to arrange meetings for sex,” Corbett said.

Corbett stressed that predators know that the start of a new school year triggers differences in Internet use, changes in family schedules and increases in the amount of time that kids may alone or unsupervised at home.

He encouraged parents to regularly discuss online safety with their children and to actively monitor how their children use the Internet, including:

• What websites they visit.
• What social networking sites they frequent (MySpace, Facebook, etc).
• The importance of not sharing personal information with strangers (names, ages, addresses, schools or other identifying information).
• Avoiding strangers who approach them online.
• Reporting any contact with individuals who engage in sexual discussions or attempt to send graphic photos or videos.

Corbett said that suspected Internet predators can be reported to the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit by using the “Report a Predator” link, located on the front page of the Attorney General’s Web site or by calling the Attorney General’s Child Predator Hotline, at 1-800-385-1044.

Additionally, Corbett said that safety tips and other information are available in the “Operation Safe Surf” and “Just for Kids” sections of the Attorney General’s website. Also, organizations interested in materials, speakers or presentations, may contact the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Office at 1-800-525-7642 or via email at education@attorneygeneral.gov.

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