MI- 21 alleged predators arrested in sting at Grand Rapids Township house

10-22-2008 Michigan: (Phase-I)

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP -- A national organization aimed at catching Internet child sexual predators nabbed 21 men who showed up at a Grand Rapids-area house over the weekend, thinking they would have sex with a girl as young as 13 or 14.

The Perverted Justice Foundation worked with about a dozen Kent County sheriff's detectives and deputies over the weekend, staging at a Grand Rapids Township home while men from as far away as Illinois and Indiana came to the house expecting to see the young teen.

Instead, they were arrested, often as they came through the front door.

Perverted Justice decoys, portraying themselves as 13 or 14 in Web chat rooms, had been talking with the men for up to a month before the weekend sting. The men who showed up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday had arranged to meet the teen for sex, said Xavier Von Erck, the foundation's director.

The suspects, all taken to jail, ranged in age from 20 to 65.

Perverted Justice is the same group that worked with Dateline NBC in its popular "To Catch A Predator" series.

In Grand Rapids, the group worked with the Michigan Attorney General's office to set up operations in an undisclosed house. An agency called Investigative Mechanics filmed the Grand Rapids sting.

Perverted Justice also worked with the Attorney General in March to catch 27 people who showed up at a southeast Michigan home. The stings take a lot of preparation, Von Erck said.

"We work from around the nation. In this case, the decoys log on and pretend to be from Michigan," he said. "(Suspects) bring up the fact they want to meet and from there we just say 'when?'"

Often, men looking for sex will show up at the sting house at nearly the same time because they often arrive late or early to the arranged rendezvous.

"You'll have guys showing up on top of each other left and right," Von Erck said. "But we are pretty practiced at this point in handling that situation."

Von Erck described 21 arrests as a good sting. At least four of the men drove from Indiana and one from Illinois.

"We are very happy with that," he said. "Anytime you can get more than a few guys on a weekend, you're doing a great job."

Often, Internet predators will not have any previous criminal record. Some will admit they had seen a "To Catch A Predator" show, knew the risks and still drove to a rendezvous point.

"It's unbelievable from our perspective," Von Erck said. "We've been at this more than five years. I thought after a few years it would be over, but it keeps going."

Kent County sheriff's Sgt. Nick Kaechele said he was pleased with the weekend operation's results. The sting was "kept under wraps" to media for security reasons, he said.

"I have a daughter in that (decoy) age group," he said, "so I'm proud of what was accomplished."
Police and the Attorney General's office planned a press conference on the sting as early as today. ..News Source.. by John Tunison The Grand Rapids Press