I was listening to my scanner last night as I was cleaning one of my pistols.  The KPD tactical channel had a lot of chatter which is a bit unusual.  After a bit I was able to figure out that they were watching somebody who kept going past the Johnson Road Park.  When he finally went into the park I heard them give the order to take him down, and then there was a message of “one in custody.” 

I was a bit curious as to what was going on, but I figured that there would be an article in the paper or a press release in a day or two.  My initial suspicion was some kind of drug bust or they were tailing a wanted fugitive.  It actually turned out to be the takedown of a prospective pedophile (PDF). 

On 04-20-2006 Keller Police arrested a 21 year-old male for on-line solicitation of a minor for sex. The case was opened on 04-10-2006 based on information received by a school resource officer. The officer met with a counselor about a possible Internet predator who had contacted two 13 year-old female students. Both students reported contact through their My Space accounts with a 21 year-old male who called himself Joe (not the offender’s true name). Joe had taken the on-line chats to a level where he wanted to set up a meeting with the girls. The victims had informed Joe that they were 13 years old and he still wanted to meet them. They became fearful for their safety at this point. After speaking with the students, the officer reviewed the My Space account of one of the victims and of the male. The male’s My Space account had other young female contacts listed on it. After gathering as much information as possible, the officer turned the investigation over to the Youth Services section of the Keller Police Department.

Detective Tom Barnett conducted interviews with the victims and their parents. After reviewing the account conversations he discovered several conversations that were sexual in nature. Detective Barnett was able to assume both of the victim’s identities on the computer. The male arranged to meet both girls on different dates for the purposes of sexual contact. The first meeting was set for 04-20-2006 at 10:30 pm at Johnson Road Park in Keller. The second was to occur on 04-21-2006. The male was given a cell phone number to call when he was on the way to the meeting.

On 04-20-2006 a female officer was given the cell phone and was to assume the 13 year old’s identity when he called. The male arrived at the park at 10:47 pm but did not enter the parking lot. He contacted the cell phone several times in an attempt lure the victim out of the park and into the street. After several minutes he finally entered the park area and made contact with the female officer. Officers immediately approached and made an arrest. The male, a 21year old Lewisville resident, was transported to the Keller Municipal Jail and booked in. He remains in custody and is awaiting arraignment on two charges of solicitation of a minor for sex (under 14).

Officers obtained a warrant and conducted a search of the male’s residence. Officers seized four computers and other information that indicates a possibility of several other underage victims.  The information obtained includes names, ages, addresses, and phone numbers of possible victims. Those leads are being followed up on at this time.

‘Unfortunately, people with illegal intentions can utilize the Internet for the wrong reasons.  We are prepared to aggressively investigate and arrest people who attempt to prey on victims in Keller”, said Chief Mark Hafner.

The Keller Police Department would like to warn parents and guardians that they should always monitor their children’s activities on the computer.  This can be easily accomplished with keystroke software.  Any parent/guardian who would like more information about how to monitor Internet activity may contact Detective Tom Barnett at tbarnett-at-kellerpd.com or 817-743-4532.

On-line Solicitation of a minor for sex (under 14) is a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison and/or a fine not to exceed $10,000. The victims identities are being withheld due to the age and the arrested person will not be identified until arraignment later this date.

We’ve been hearing more and more in the media about MySpace being a playground for child predators, but I usually tend to dismiss the news reports as fear-mongering.  I suppose the truth is somewhere in between.  And it doesn’t really matter what site it is, children shouldn’t be unsupervised online.  It’s good that the girls reported it to someone, but it’s a bit disheartening that the parents weren’t aware (or at least that they weren’t the ones to bring it to the police, should they have been aware).

On the other side of the coin, by giving unsupervised children a place to speak honestly, perhaps MySpace can also provide an “early warning” for kids who are on the edge of exploding (hat tip to Dr. Helen).

On a semi-related note, I’d love to see MySpace do a better job of explaining to users that hotlinking is bad.  Not that a wanna-be thug would likely care.