MI- 9 Accused Cyber Predators Jailed

This news story points to, what I see as a potential problem, supposedly -in every case- the teens were in "Chat rooms and on Craig's List."

Not to say that teens are not allowed at either place, BUT, what kind of chat rooms and what portion of Craig's list?

Where the teens in places where they are permitted?

Did those places have sufficient "Warnings" that -if adult only- they made such known to people signing in to them?

Are teens -being of a curious age- placing themselves at risk?

Do these places need to be further controlled by laws to protect underage kids from conversations with adults? etc. etc. etc.

8-16-2009 Michigan Phase-I:

Police Investigated 150

HOWELL, Mich. -- Nine men are behind bars accused of trying to have sex with a child after meeting them on the Internet.

Police said the men drove from all over Michigan and Ohio to meet with a cop who posed as a teenager for sex.

The Michigan Attorney General's office and Livingston County Sheriff's department teamed up with Perverted Justice for a three-day sting operation in Howell.

On Monday, Sheriff Robert Bezotte announced results of that sting that took place from Aug 14-16.

Police said more than 150 men attempted to engage in sexual activity with officers posing as children.

"It's very disturbing because we are only touch the tip of the ice berg," said Sheriff Bezotte.

Those arrested include a retired Detroit police officer, a grocery store clerk from Clarkston, a local security guard, a postal carrier and a software engineer from metro Detroit.

The men range from 24 to 53 years old.

The defendants were charged with child sexually abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime, both felonies.

"The message for predators is loud and clear," said Attorney General Mike Cox. "We are watching. If you attempt to target a child, we will take you offline."

Those arrested are:

# _____, 53, of Detroit. Police said Allen is a retired City of Detroit police officer who counseled the undercover agent on how to avoid saving chat logs and threatened to kill himself if turned in.

_____ was arrested at a nearby fast food restaurant parking lot.

# _____, 40, of Clawson. Clawson is a grocery store clerk who took a cab from Oakland County to the decoy location, later arriving at the home on foot.

He was arrested outside the home.

# _____, 37, of Eastpointe. Lombardo is a music D.J., who was taken into custody at a nearby fast-food restaurant parking lot.

# _____, 49, of LaSalle in Monroe County. Krauss is a security guard who was taken into custody when he walked into the decoy home.

# _____, 29, of Columbus, Ohio; reported that he is an Indian citizen in the United States for about a month as a software programmer.

Police said _____ took a cab to the decoy home after taking a bus from Columbus to Detroit.

# _____, 47, of Grand Rapids; also arrested by authorities at a fast-food restaurant parking lot while carrying condoms, lubricant and pornographic videos.

# _____, 24, of Flint.

# _____, 29, of Rochester Hills.

# _____, 50, of Flint.

Police said in each case the men used chat rooms or Craig's List to find the teens.

Internet Crimes Detective Matthew Shutts sat down with Local 4 Monday to show how fast investigators can lure child predators online.

"I've just logged in and had 2 contacts within probably 20 seconds," said Shutts, who was posing as a child looking for sex in an internet chat room.

Attorney General Mike Cox said investigators will work to locate the men who responded to the online postings and were not arrested.

"This is a reminder for parents that the Internet is being used by predators to target our children," said Cox. "Parents must be monitoring what their kids are doing online and talk often with them about the dangers of communicating with people they don't know and trust." ..Source.. by ClickOnDetroit.com.