 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
How authorities arrested 28 in predator sting
TV show played part in ruse
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 04/8/07
BY JAMES A. QUIRK
AND MARGARET BONAFIDE
STAFF WRITERS
Post Comment
They came from as far away as Washington state, authorities say. One leased a new motorcycle for the occasion
and drove six hours east from Pittsburgh. Another took the train from New York City to the Bay Head Junction station
wearing an oversized SpongeBob SquarePants jacket and, prepared with a large bottle of KY lubricant, walked the
two miles to Mantoloking.
For five weeks prior, authorities say, the 28 men had immersed themselves in chatting online with what they thought
was a 13-year-old girl or boy. All of them had worked the situation up to the same apex — to finally meet with the
"teen" in a large home near the sea in Mantoloking, and have sex with him or her.
This is how the case unfolded, according to law-enforcement authorities and those in the know:
In a steady procession March 31 and April 1, each man entered the house. Inside, each found a 13-year-old "girl" in
pigtails or a thin young "boy" — who were actually adult actors working with Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator"
series.
One by one, each man would be confronted by the show's host, Chris Hansen, and interviewed on camera as to
what possessed him to try to do what he had come to the house to do. Then each man was arrested by officers with
the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Mantoloking and Brick police — who were waiting outside the entire time.
The sting, dubbed Operation 15 Minutes by law enforcement officials, was the brainchild of Perverted Justice, a
California-based nonprofit that uses a sophisticated army of dedicated volunteers to bring to justice adults who use
the Internet to lure children for sexual liaisons.
Group's first in N.J.
Perverted Justice's work has led to 171 convictions to date. Operation 15 Minutes is the largest sting it has
conducted in the Northeast, and the first in New Jersey, said Xavier Von Erck, the group's director of operations.
For residents living in the quiet seaside resort town, reading the list of men arrested in Operation 15 Minutes came
as quite a shock. They came from all walks of life — a New York University student, a retired firefighter, a school bus
driver, an Air Force mechanic — and ranged in age from 21 to 60.
Mantoloking was picked for its central location between New York City and Philadelphia, Ocean County Prosecutor
Thomas F. Kelaher said.
"And I think this showed how a kid online is just a beacon," Von Erck said. "If you look where these guys came from
for this sting, it's a huge location. These guys were just drawn in. Also, it seems that when we do (the stings) in a
specific area, people pay more attention to it."
"My first reaction when they contacted us was to say that we're not in the theater business here," Kelaher said of
Perverted Justice. But after hearing unanimous praise from law enforcement agencies around the country who have
worked with the group, Kelaher said his office quickly pledged its support.
Tracking predators online
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office was already well familiar with the increasing presence of sexual predators
online.
Last summer, investigators with the office's Cybercrime Unit teamed up with school resource officers throughout the
county, and trained them how to combat predators online by posing as underage boys and girls.
The three-month partnership led to 17 arrests, said Lt. Mike Nevil, of the office's Cybercrime Unit.
According to Nevil, it was the school resource officers who first came to the Prosecutor's Office with frontline
accounts of how the increasing availability of technology such as cell phones and webcams, as well as the rising
popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace, were changing the lives of young teens. As the Internet
became more integral to the lives of young people, investigators — starting five years ago — began to see a steady
rise in the activity of online sexual predators.
"And in the last three years, predators have been getting more aggressive, and younger, even 17 or 18," Nevil said.
"Now they're jumping online, and within 10 seconds, they're talking about sex."
Surveillance widened
Perverted Justice normally has its volunteers fan out in Yahoo chat rooms, but for the first time, the volunteer chatters
went to AOL chat rooms, Craigslist, MySpace and Xanga as part of the Operation 15 Minutes sting, Von Erck said.
"We would basically check the chat and see where they wanted it to go," said Dennis Kerr, assistant director of
operations for Perverted Justice. "If the person wanted to talk about Scrabble, we would. Wherever it goes.
Eventually they'll either go away, or they'll take it to the point where they want to get sexual. They'll start to ask about
sexual history and want to get into that, and work into wanting to have sex with a child, to find out if a meet is
possible."
Many of the men who started chatting with Perverted Justice's volunteers took the bait — 28 of 35 men showed up
at the home in Mantoloking. And of the 28 men arrested in that weekend, five had chatted previously with the
undercover officers working with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Cybercrime Unit, Nevil said.
Mantoloking home rented
Dateline NBC worked with Perverted Justice to rent the home in Mantoloking for the weekend. Neither organization
would release any information about the owners of the home.
The "decoy" actors who spoke with the men used a variety of stories to explain why he or she would be alone in the
house all weekend. One was that her parents were off attending a big wedding far off on Long Island. Another was
that his family had opted to spend the weekend in Atlantic City, Nevil said.
During the sting operation, dozens of volunteers working with Perverted Justice set up shop on the second floor,
Kelaher said. A team of technicians from Investigative Mechanics in New York City set up a special hidden
surveillance room near the kitchen. Almost every square inch of the first floor was wired for sound and filled with
hidden cameras, so every move made by the suspects as they walked through the door was captured in high-
definition detail, Kelaher said.
Decoy made brownies
Several police officers waited in the bushes, hidden from view in "duck blinds." These officers would arrest each
suspect after he finished speaking with Hansen. Another team of law enforcement officials watched the entire sting
operation on a bank of surveillance screens set up inside the Mantoloking Police Department, Kelaher said.
The arrests went like clockwork and happened without incident. Each encounter would follow the same script: The
suspect would enter and greet the decoy, who would eventually excuse him or herself as a cue for Hansen to enter
the room. The female decoy actually made brownies for the suspects as part of the act, Nevil said — and one
suspect, when he was arrested, complained that they were subpar.
When Hansen stepped out from the kitchen to greet them, each man reponded differently. One fainted. Some could
only stammer in disbelief as they realized they were about to be arrested. And another man actually told Hansen he
was a big fan of "To Catch a Predator," and shook the host's hand, Nevil said.
Restricting online access
The police involved in the sting know one thing for certain: Parents need to make sure their kids don't have
unfettered access to chat rooms because they then become victims waiting to happen, said Mantoloking Police
Chief Mark Wright.
Wright said he is not the least bit concerned that Mantoloking's Uniform Crime Report will reflect 28 attempted
sexual assault charges plus a myriad of other sexually related crimes. He also has no regrets.
Actually, his co-worker, Patrolman Gino Saccone, has one. He wishes they "could have caught more" in the sting.
Although 28 people were apprehended after trying to come to meet a minor to have a sexual encounter, more than
100 people had replied they were coming after the location was disclosed in individual e-mails Thursday night
before the weekend's adventures, Wright said.
Both men said they are pleased their department had an opportunity to participate in the sting.
The chief said he was visited by a local real estate agent concerned that the publicity would have a negative effect
on the market. If it does one thing, Wright said, he believes Operation 15 Minutes will keep predators out of
Mantoloking and make it one of the safest towns in the county.
Nevil echoed his sentiments, saying, "Now, a predator will hear of Mantoloking, or even Ocean County, and know to
stay far away."
TV show played part in ruse
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 04/8/07
BY JAMES A. QUIRK
AND MARGARET BONAFIDE
STAFF WRITERS
Post Comment
They came from as far away as Washington state, authorities say. One leased a new motorcycle for the occasion
and drove six hours east from Pittsburgh. Another took the train from New York City to the Bay Head Junction station
wearing an oversized SpongeBob SquarePants jacket and, prepared with a large bottle of KY lubricant, walked the
two miles to Mantoloking.
For five weeks prior, authorities say, the 28 men had immersed themselves in chatting online with what they thought
was a 13-year-old girl or boy. All of them had worked the situation up to the same apex — to finally meet with the
"teen" in a large home near the sea in Mantoloking, and have sex with him or her.
This is how the case unfolded, according to law-enforcement authorities and those in the know:
In a steady procession March 31 and April 1, each man entered the house. Inside, each found a 13-year-old "girl" in
pigtails or a thin young "boy" — who were actually adult actors working with Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator"
series.
One by one, each man would be confronted by the show's host, Chris Hansen, and interviewed on camera as to
what possessed him to try to do what he had come to the house to do. Then each man was arrested by officers with
the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, Mantoloking and Brick police — who were waiting outside the entire time.
The sting, dubbed Operation 15 Minutes by law enforcement officials, was the brainchild of Perverted Justice, a
California-based nonprofit that uses a sophisticated army of dedicated volunteers to bring to justice adults who use
the Internet to lure children for sexual liaisons.
Group's first in N.J.
Perverted Justice's work has led to 171 convictions to date. Operation 15 Minutes is the largest sting it has
conducted in the Northeast, and the first in New Jersey, said Xavier Von Erck, the group's director of operations.
For residents living in the quiet seaside resort town, reading the list of men arrested in Operation 15 Minutes came
as quite a shock. They came from all walks of life — a New York University student, a retired firefighter, a school bus
driver, an Air Force mechanic — and ranged in age from 21 to 60.
Mantoloking was picked for its central location between New York City and Philadelphia, Ocean County Prosecutor
Thomas F. Kelaher said.
"And I think this showed how a kid online is just a beacon," Von Erck said. "If you look where these guys came from
for this sting, it's a huge location. These guys were just drawn in. Also, it seems that when we do (the stings) in a
specific area, people pay more attention to it."
"My first reaction when they contacted us was to say that we're not in the theater business here," Kelaher said of
Perverted Justice. But after hearing unanimous praise from law enforcement agencies around the country who have
worked with the group, Kelaher said his office quickly pledged its support.
Tracking predators online
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office was already well familiar with the increasing presence of sexual predators
online.
Last summer, investigators with the office's Cybercrime Unit teamed up with school resource officers throughout the
county, and trained them how to combat predators online by posing as underage boys and girls.
The three-month partnership led to 17 arrests, said Lt. Mike Nevil, of the office's Cybercrime Unit.
According to Nevil, it was the school resource officers who first came to the Prosecutor's Office with frontline
accounts of how the increasing availability of technology such as cell phones and webcams, as well as the rising
popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace, were changing the lives of young teens. As the Internet
became more integral to the lives of young people, investigators — starting five years ago — began to see a steady
rise in the activity of online sexual predators.
"And in the last three years, predators have been getting more aggressive, and younger, even 17 or 18," Nevil said.
"Now they're jumping online, and within 10 seconds, they're talking about sex."
Surveillance widened
Perverted Justice normally has its volunteers fan out in Yahoo chat rooms, but for the first time, the volunteer chatters
went to AOL chat rooms, Craigslist, MySpace and Xanga as part of the Operation 15 Minutes sting, Von Erck said.
"We would basically check the chat and see where they wanted it to go," said Dennis Kerr, assistant director of
operations for Perverted Justice. "If the person wanted to talk about Scrabble, we would. Wherever it goes.
Eventually they'll either go away, or they'll take it to the point where they want to get sexual. They'll start to ask about
sexual history and want to get into that, and work into wanting to have sex with a child, to find out if a meet is
possible."
Many of the men who started chatting with Perverted Justice's volunteers took the bait — 28 of 35 men showed up
at the home in Mantoloking. And of the 28 men arrested in that weekend, five had chatted previously with the
undercover officers working with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Cybercrime Unit, Nevil said.
Mantoloking home rented
Dateline NBC worked with Perverted Justice to rent the home in Mantoloking for the weekend. Neither organization
would release any information about the owners of the home.
The "decoy" actors who spoke with the men used a variety of stories to explain why he or she would be alone in the
house all weekend. One was that her parents were off attending a big wedding far off on Long Island. Another was
that his family had opted to spend the weekend in Atlantic City, Nevil said.
During the sting operation, dozens of volunteers working with Perverted Justice set up shop on the second floor,
Kelaher said. A team of technicians from Investigative Mechanics in New York City set up a special hidden
surveillance room near the kitchen. Almost every square inch of the first floor was wired for sound and filled with
hidden cameras, so every move made by the suspects as they walked through the door was captured in high-
definition detail, Kelaher said.
Decoy made brownies
Several police officers waited in the bushes, hidden from view in "duck blinds." These officers would arrest each
suspect after he finished speaking with Hansen. Another team of law enforcement officials watched the entire sting
operation on a bank of surveillance screens set up inside the Mantoloking Police Department, Kelaher said.
The arrests went like clockwork and happened without incident. Each encounter would follow the same script: The
suspect would enter and greet the decoy, who would eventually excuse him or herself as a cue for Hansen to enter
the room. The female decoy actually made brownies for the suspects as part of the act, Nevil said — and one
suspect, when he was arrested, complained that they were subpar.
When Hansen stepped out from the kitchen to greet them, each man reponded differently. One fainted. Some could
only stammer in disbelief as they realized they were about to be arrested. And another man actually told Hansen he
was a big fan of "To Catch a Predator," and shook the host's hand, Nevil said.
Restricting online access
The police involved in the sting know one thing for certain: Parents need to make sure their kids don't have
unfettered access to chat rooms because they then become victims waiting to happen, said Mantoloking Police
Chief Mark Wright.
Wright said he is not the least bit concerned that Mantoloking's Uniform Crime Report will reflect 28 attempted
sexual assault charges plus a myriad of other sexually related crimes. He also has no regrets.
Actually, his co-worker, Patrolman Gino Saccone, has one. He wishes they "could have caught more" in the sting.
Although 28 people were apprehended after trying to come to meet a minor to have a sexual encounter, more than
100 people had replied they were coming after the location was disclosed in individual e-mails Thursday night
before the weekend's adventures, Wright said.
Both men said they are pleased their department had an opportunity to participate in the sting.
The chief said he was visited by a local real estate agent concerned that the publicity would have a negative effect
on the market. If it does one thing, Wright said, he believes Operation 15 Minutes will keep predators out of
Mantoloking and make it one of the safest towns in the county.
Nevil echoed his sentiments, saying, "Now, a predator will hear of Mantoloking, or even Ocean County, and know to
stay far away."
Michael Nevil, Ocean County Prosecutors Office
announced that 28 people were arrested in a
sting operation targeting sexual predators.
announced that 28 people were arrested in a
sting operation targeting sexual predators.