Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday #64
Another week of busts for the police chasing internet predators…
- In Texas, a Fire Marshall was arrested for soliciting what he thought was a 12-year-old girl online for sex…
- In Pennsylvania, a 62-year-old man was arrested for soliciting what he thought was a 13-year-old girl online for sex…
In both cases, an undercover cop was on the other end. Thankfully, no kids were involved… but that doesn’t mean these guys weren’t trying… and think of how many more guys are still out there… Not monitoring what your kids do online is like leaving the door open for these guys to walk in and say “hi” to your kids…
Here are the full stories with links…
October 16, 2009
Fire marshal charged with solicitation of minor
By Angelia Joiner, Special to the Reporter-NewsStephenville Fire Marshal Gary Nabors was arrested Thursday and charged with online solicitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, according to District Attorney Jason Cashon.
The charge is punishable with a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Bond was set Friday morning at $50,000, and Friday evening Nabors remained in Erath County jail with no attorney on record.
Cashon said Texas Ranger Danny Briley is leading the investigation with assistance from other agencies. He declined to name the other agencies, citing the ongoing investigation.
City Administrator Mark Kaiser said Nabors has been a city employee since 1979, first working as a building inspector, then in April 1986 he was promoted to fire marshal.
Texas Rangers arrested Nabors at his office, and city assets were secured, Kaiser said.
“He can’t get to his pickup, cell phone or his office,” Kaiser said. “We are cooperating with Texas Rangers.”
Kaiser said Nabors is divorced and has two children.
Cashon said, “There are constantly law enforcement people out there posing as minors. They develop a profile on the Internet, and it doesn’t take very long to engage an adult.”
The Brownwood Bulletin recently reported on the arrest of Harvey Curry, 60, who believed he was chatting online with a 12-year-old girl when he was actually engaged with Somervell County Sheriff’s investigator Tony Yocham.
Yocham had logged onto Yahoo Messenger as part of an investigation into online predators.
The Brownwood man was sending sexually graphic messages and photos of child pornography through an Internet instant messaging service, a Texas Ranger alleged in an affidavit for a search warrant.
It is not known if these two arrests stemmed from the same operation within the Somervell County Sheriff’s office. Calls to the office were not returned.
October 17, 2009
Pike County man, 62, held in Internet child-sex sting
By Howard Frank, Pocono Record WriterA 62-year-old Pike County man was arrested Wednesday, accused of using an Internet chat room to sexually proposition what he believed was a 13-year-old girl, along with transmitting illegal child pornography.
Edward J. MacGregor, of Milford, a retired construction worker, allegedly used an Internet chat room to approach an undercover agent from the state Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit. The agent was using the online profile of a 13-year-old girl. During their initial chat, MacGregor allegedly asked the “girl” about sexual activity, encouraged her to masturbate and sent adult pornography to her computer, the attorney general’s office charged.
Attorney General Tom Corbett said in a written statement, “Parents need to understand that online conversations can quickly escalate to include sexually graphic discussions or the transmission of pornographic material, often during the first chat,” Corbett said. “It is essential to regularly discuss online safety with children and stress the importance of immediately reporting any situation where strangers make sexual propositions, attempt to arrange meetings or send graphic photos or videos.”
According to the criminal complaint, MacGregor sent repeated sexual propositions to the undercover agent, instructing her to masturbate, asking her to send him nude photographs of herself and sending numerous pornographic photos. Several images appeared to include nude children or children engaging in sexual activity.
MacGregor was arrested by agents from the Child Predator Unit, assisted by Pennsylvania State Police from the Blooming Grove barracks.
He was charged with two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, related to obscene or sexual materials, two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, related to child pornography, and one count of criminal use of a computer. All the charges are third-degree felonies, with each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.
MacGregor was arraigned before Dingman’s Ferry Magisterial District Judge Stephen McBride, who set bail at $25,000 cash. He was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with minors, and is prohibited from using the Internet. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at 11:45 a.m.
The Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit has arrested 242 Internet predators since it was created in January 2005, according to Corbett. And this year, agents have made 61 arrests so far — nearly a 20 percent increase compared with 2008.
Internet safety tips
“Parents must 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,” State Attorney General Tom Corbett said.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.
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, at www.attorneygeneral.gov, or by calling the Attorney General’s Child Predator
Safety tips and other information are available in the “Operation Safe Surf” and “Just for Kids” sections of the Attorney General’s Web site. Also, organizations interested in materials, speakers or presentations, may contact the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Office at 800) 525-7642 or via e-mail at education@attorneygeneral.gov.
