It’s December in Flagler Beach Florida (population: 5,000), and it’s time for the annual holiday parade. The entire police force of Flagler, a town some 20 miles north of Daytona, is working parade duty.
But later that evening, most of those same officers are working one of the biggest investigations they’ve ever tackled.
The police are hiding in a garage behind our latest undercover house, waiting to arrest the man who’s about to walk inside.
34-year-old Mohamad Abdalla works in real estate. He’s married, and has an 8-year-old daughter.
Female decoy (on hidden camera): Come inside. It’s cold out here. Come in. Come on in. Hi. How are you? How was your drive?Mohamad Abdalla: Can I leave the door open? Decoy: You can leave the door open. Abdalla: How you doing?Decoy: Sit down. Good.
Long before he got to the house, Abdalla used the screen names ‘blondy91972’ and ‘midos1972’ to chat with someone who told him she’s a 13-year-old girl.
But he was really talking to a decoy for the online watchdog group Perverted-Justice, a group we hired because of its experience pretending to be teens online who are curious about sex.
In his chat, Abdalla wants to know the girl’s bra size, whether she slept with her old boyfriend, if she masturbates, and if she’s ever performed oral sex. Then he says he wants to perform oral sex on her. Then he suggests the girl perform oral sex on him.
And Abdalla sends along these naked pictures. Note the distinctive necklace the man is wearing. And, like most of our potential predators, Abdalla makes a date online to come to visit the teen when she says she’s home alone.
Now, he’s at our house, and he doesn’t know it’s outfitted with multiple hidden cameras that record his every move as soon as he enters. Also out of sight are a large Dateline crew and members of Perverted-Justice.
First, some small talk:
Decoy: Did you see the rocket go?Abdalla: Yeah, I was watching.Decoy: That was cool, huh?
They’re talking about the space shuttle. Sure enough, we’d also been treated to a view of the spectacular launch from nearby Cape Kennedy less than an hour before.
So I decided to continue the discussion about the space program.
Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent (walks out): Hi, how are you?Mohamad Abdalla: How you doing?Hansen: Good. Why don’t you have a seat right over there?Abdalla: Sure.Hansen: How’s it going?Abdalla: Good. Hansen: You see the shuttle go off?Abdalla: I was just here watching it. Hansen: Okay. So what made you come on over here tonight?Abdalla: I was watching the rocket, then I came.Hansen: Yeah?Abdalla: I was watching some homes around here.Hansen: Right.Abdalla: You know? Then she goes outside the door.Hansen: Right.Abdalla: And she tell me come in.Hansen: Yeah. And so you just happened to be going by and you saw this blonde woman out there and she waved at you.Abdalla: (laughs) Yes, she waved at me.Hansen: That explains everything, doesn’t it?Abdalla: She waved at me. I—Hansen: She just waved at you.Abdalla: --I’m thinking she owns the house.Hansen: Yeah.Abdalla:I will try to tell her what is it and just as she say “Come in.”Hansen: “Come in.” And so you just walked right in.Abdalla: No, no, just walk— I ask her, you know, what’s this?Hansen: What an amazing coincidence. You’re a lucky guy. You’re driving along and this good-looking young girl waves you in. That’s amazing.Abdalla: I know.Hansen: What do you suppose the odds of any of that being even remotely true?Abdalla: What do you mean?
Now it’s time to let him know that we know he wasn’t just doing some sighteeing and looking for real estate.
Hansen: Now, the problem with all that is—Abdalla: Tell me.Hansen: —is that I know that you were chatting online with a girl who said she was 13. She gave you directions to come over here.Abdalla: Did she say I was 13?Hansen: She said she was 13.Abdalla: Oh, who who was this? I don’t know. I chat with a lot of—Hansen: You tell me.Abdalla: I chat with a lot of people online.
Then I show him these pictures he sent.
Hansen: Is that you, these pictures there?Abdalla: That looks like me, yeah.Hansen: It looks like you? Okay.Abdalla: Yeah.
And I showed him those naked pictures...
Hansen: Okay. How about that one?Abdalla: It looks like me, too.Hansen: Yeah. That one?Abdalla: Yeah.Hansen: That one?Abdalla: Looks, yeah.Hansen: Yeah? That one? Okay.
Then I remind him what he told the girl who said was 13.
Hansen: You ask her what she’s doing. She says she’s sleeping on her back. And you say, “Sleep on your back and open them wide open.” Abdalla: What is it? I don’t know.Hansen: This is your chat with a girl who told you she was 13.Abdalla: When would that?Hansen: This particular one was December 3Abdalla: I was in the office at this time. I do not chat in the morning.Hansen: You don’t chat in the morning?Abdalla: Nope.Hansen: Oh. Well, here right here you say you’re in your office. So that’s consistent with what you just told me.Hansen: You talk about licking her.Abdalla: Licking?Hansen: Licking.Abdalla: I have my wife. Why do I have to talk to some girl—Hansen: Why don’t you tell me?Abdalla: I—I’m—Hansen: Where’s your wife?Abdalla: --with my wife for five years.Hansen: For five years?Abdalla: Yeah.Hansen: Where is she tonight?Abdalla: She’s home.Abdalla: I’m not gonna chat with a 13 years old this way.Hansen: She says, “I don’t really know much about licking and stuff.” Then you say, “You like to try?” She says, “Might be interesting.”Abdalla: I will never say to someone like that. Never.Hansen: “It will be nice. I think you will love it.”Abdalla: Never. Never ever. Just something about me, you know, I’m an Egyptian. I’m Muslim. I don’t do this. It’s not me. Just I—Hansen: No, no. Hang on one second. Before you do that I need to tell you something.Abdalla: Okay.Hansen: I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And we’re doing a story on men who try to meet underage kids online for sex.Abdalla: I don’t—Hansen: If there’s anything else you’d like to tell me, we’d like to hear it.
Abdalla doesn’t want to talk to me any more.
Outside, the Flagler beach police are racing into position. Thinking he’s going to run, the police come down hard.
At the police station, Abdalla seems a little uncooperative. Officers find a large amount of cash.
Inside the interrogation room, after he’s read his rights, Abdulla doesn’t want to speak to the police.
Detective Liz Williams of the Flagler beach police department thinks Abdalla’s excuses were creative... except for one thing. Remember those pictures of the naked man?
Det. Liz Williams: In the images that portrayed or showed his genitalia, the head was cropped off.
And that unique necklace he wore?
Williams: It was obviously hand crafted. And evening when he was at our station, was that he was wearing the same piece of jewelry around his neck.Hansen: And what does that say to you?Det. Williams: It was him.Hansen: Even though he cropped that off?Det. Williams: Right.
Two days later, Abdalla made bail. He’s charged with three felony counts: Attemping a lewd act upon a child, using a computer to send lewd images, and using a computer to in attempt to seduce a minor. Those charges carry penalties of up to 15 years in prison. He later pleaded not guilty. And because he is an Egyptian citizen, his case has also been referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If he’s convicted, Abdalla could be deported after serving his sentence.
He’s just one of 21 men who show up at our undercover house over our four-day investigation.
It’s about to get busy at our undercover house in Flagler beach, Florida.
Female Decoy (on hidden camera): Yeah. He saw me. Can you hear me? Come on in. How are you?Brian Dory: I’m good.
Here’s a 24-year-old interior landscape designer named Brian Dory.
Decoy: It’s cold outside.Dory: It’s freezing outside. (laughs)Decoy: I know. How are you?Dory: Good. Decoy: You can have a seat if you’d like.Dory: Thank you.
Online, Dory uses the screen name “briman31282”, he was chatting with a decoy calling herself “Allie,” who told him she was a 14-year-old girl.
briman31282 (chat log): u ar very sexydaddys_cutie_petutie: wowdaddys_cutie_petutie: never thought i was sexybriman31282: =P~ u are hehesexybriman31282: i think that will work hehe do you hard and deep
Dory tells her he wants to have sex with her, and what position he will use. He says he’ll bring condoms, and then sends her pictures of himself masturbating.
briman31282: I have met 2 on the net and 1 young like u
He even tells her he’s had sex before with another underage girl he met online.
The decoy responds:
daddys_cutie_petutie: did u teach her the same things u’re gonna teach me?
He replies:
briman31282: i sure did and she loved it
Now here he is in our house.
Decoy: Well, did you bring anything?Dory: Yeah.Decoy: What’d you bring?Dory: I brought my clothes. I brought condoms.Decoy: Okay.
The decoy he’s meeting is really a 19-year-old actress hired by "Dateline."
Decoy: All right. All right. Well, let me go change and I’ll be right back.Dory: Okay. I’m gonna go get my stuff real quick.Chris Hansen (walks out): Wait don’t you have a seat right over there for me, please.Hansen: What were you doing here?Dory: Just meeting somebody.Hansen: Meeting somebody. And who are you here to meet tonight?Dory: Somebody I’m talking with on the computer.Hansen: What’s her name?Dory: Allie.Hansen: And how old is Allie?Dory: She said she’d be 15, but I didn’t know if she said it was true or what.Hansen: What did she tell you online?Dory: She didn’t really say her age online.Hansen: What age was on the profile?Dory: 14.Hansen: 14. Okay. So when you looked at the profile, you saw that she was 14 years old.Dory: Yes.Hansen: So you knew that going in.Dory: Well, I don’t know for sure.Hansen: Was there any other reason to suggest that she wasn’t 14?Dory: No.
Dory says he almost changed his mind about coming, but admits during his hour-long drive from Orlando he made a point of stopping for some supplies.
Dory: I just stopped at Food Lion.Hansen: And what all did you get at Food Lion?Dory: I got a Mountain Dew and a box of condoms.Hansen: Mountain Dew and a box of condoms.Hansen: What did you all talk about, Brian, when you were online with this girl?Dory: Talked about meeting and we did talk about sex a little bit.
That may be an understatement.
Hansen (reading chat): You say, “Hey, I could have said I was naked with a h**d-on.” Then you go on from there. You think it’s appropriate for somebody your age to come visit a 14-year-old girl home alone?Dory: No, I do not. But she is the one that invited me.Hansen: Does that make it right?Dory: That does not make it right. No.Hansen: Have you ever done this before?Dory: No, I have not. I did lie about that. Yeah, I know what you’re fixing to say. But I lied—Hansen: You say right here—Dory: I know.Hansen: --“I have met two on the 'Net. One young like you.” Dory: Yeah, I know. I lied about all that.Hansen: Have you ever seen our show called “To Catch a Predator”?Dory: No, I have not.Hansen: I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC....
Dory heads for the door.
Outside, he meets the Flagler Beach Police. They take him around to the back of the house, because the next visitor is about to arrive. But the cops have everything under control as that second man, William Roach, a Taekwondo instructor, approaches. He even parks nose to nose with our previous visitor’s car.
But he won’t come inside and perhaps to prove to himself this isn’t a set up, he keeps asking our decoy to flash her breasts.
William Roach: Will you flash me?Female decoy: I’m shy. Come in here.Roach: Can’t hear you.Decoy: I said I’m shy. I don’t wanna do it out here. Come on. It’s cold.Roach: Can you flash me?Decoy: The neighbors might see me out here. Come on.Roach: It’s okay. Real quick.
Online, Roach wasn’t quite so suspicious.
Using the screen name “thenamestheygiveyouaredumb,” he chatted with a decoy who told him she was 13. Perhaps to make the girl feel more comfortable, the 31-year-old tells the girl he’s also a teenager, just 19.
He asks if she’s virgin, and what sexual things she’s done. He says he would like to perform oral sex on her, and asks her intimate questions like how large her breasts are.
He sends her a pornographic video, and says:
Thenamestheygivearedumb (chat log): can i do that to you?Judkin_amazin93: yah if you wantd
Just like our earlier suspect, Roach sends along video of himself masturbating. But at the house, he remains wary—
Roach: Is someone in the house?Decoy: Hurry, though. Someone’s gonna see you.
And the standoff continues. Roach decides it’s time to move out, and the Flagler Beach Police move in.
He may think he didn’t do anything wrong, but in Florida, he didn’t need to go in the house to commit a crime. It’s illegal to use a computer to attempt to solicit a child for sex.
We find out later that according to Perverted-Justice, Roach had a sexual conversation with another decoy during our Flagler Beach investigation. And in April, 2006, he chatted with three other decoys during our investigation in Ft. Myers, Florida— 270 miles away on Florida’s gulf coast.
At the Flagler Beach police station, Roach tells the investigator he doesn’t remember how old the decoy said she was.
Detective (police interview): It says right here—it says "you’re hot for 13." She told you she was 13.Roach: I chat with—I mean, anybody—anybody.Detective: Do you send just anybody pictures?Roach: Yeah. Pretty much.Detective: Really?Roach: Yeah.Detective: And of you masturbating?Roach: Yeah. It’s unfortunate.
Detective Liz Williams of the Flagler beach P.D.
Hansen: Unfortunate?Det. Liz Williams: Yes. Which would lend you to believe he was a little more sorry that he did it for his own self.Hansen: So "unfortunately" because it was the wrong thing to do, or "unfortunately" because he got caught doing it?Det. Williams: Unfortunately because he got caught was the impression I got.
And the police find more as they dig into Roach’s past. Remember how he kept asking the decoy at the house to flash her breasts?
Det. Williams: More recently, Roach and his company Goshoppingmall.com Inc. were sued by a woman who claims Roach exposed himself to her and pulled her shirt to expose her breasts. The case is pending, court records show. There’s a pending case now of where he had allegedly grabbed a woman’s shirt over her breasts.
In that civil suit, two women who worked for roach at the time, allege he also exposed himself to them, and touched them inappropriately. Roach denied the allegations.
And there’s more due to the fact that he also works around children.
Hansen: Teaches kids Tae Kwon Do.Det. Liz Williams: Right.Hansen: Which is a physical activity.Det. Williams: Correct.
And during his interrogation, Roach tells investigators he has a child of his own.
Investigator: How old’s your son?Roach: He’s eight. He’s with his mom. She’s dropping him off tomorrow. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
Roach was later charged with four felony counts including attempting a lewd act upon a child, transmitting pornography to a child, and using a computer to seduce a child. He’s pleaded not guilty.
Roach was still listed on the Taekwondo school Web site months after he was arrested, but we were told that he no longer works there.
Later, that previous suspect, Brian Dory is also questioned by an investigator.
Investigator: And when you were driving around and saying “no, no, no” in your head, what was that reason for?Dory: Age. Felt uncomfortable—Investigator: ‘Cause she was 14.Dory: 'Cause she was 14. Didn’t feel comfortable just doing that to that age.
Dory is charged with three felony counts and he also faces a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana that police found in his car. He later pleaded not guilty.
The next man to arrive at our undercover house in Florida is a 22-year-old college student and Chemistry teacher.
His name is Deepak Bist, and he drove four hours to get there from West Palm Beach.
In the online chat room, Bist uses the screen name “lovesource7.” When the decoy tells him she’s 13 he writes:
Lovesource7 (chat log): wow u too young babe u shouldnt be out here... lotta perverts in here
After chatting on and off for almost a month, Bist makes it clear what he’s interested in.
He says he wants oral sex, and wants to perform it on her.
lovesource7: i believe it feels good to the ladies
He graphically asks what sexual positions she prefers. Then, towards the end of the chat, there’s this exchange.
Lovesource7: u ever watch dateline, i was watchin it yesterdayjen_is_jennah: dont think so, is it good?lovesource7: yeah, these tv personal chat with men as kids and they ask them to meet and then they show it on tvjen_is_jennah: Olovesource7: its prettu funny. u should watch it, but in this show they send those people to jail for meeting a childjen_is_jennah: o, i dont want u in trbl. how did they find out?lovesource7: i dont know.
So after all this, you’d think he’d you’d know better than to show up at a stranger’s house.
But not this guy.
This science teacher is apparently still hoping for a biological reaction with our decoy.
Decoy (at undercover house): How are you? Thank you. I just want to get comfortable....Chris Hansen, (walks out): Why don’t you have a seat right over there. You brought chocolate and flowers... Very nice. What are you doing here today?Deepak Bist: Nothing.Hansen: Nothing. So who were you here to see?Bist: Okay. She—she asked me to come.Hansen: She did?Bist: She did. I did not. I told her it’s not appropriate.Hansen: It’s not appropriate.Bist: That she’s too young.Hansen: That she’s too young. How old is she?Bist: She said she was 13.Hansen: 13. And how old are you?Bist: I’m 22.Hansen: 22. Hansen: So you knew it wasn’t a good thing to do.Bist: Yeah, it was—Hansen: But you did it anyway.Bist: But she started it.Hansen: She started it. So it’s the 13-year-old girl’s fault, not the 22-year-old man.
But the fact is, he was the one who began the chat.
Hansen: You start out telling her that she’s too young. “You’re too young, babe. You shouldn’t be out here. A lot of perverts in here.” What did you mean by that?Bist: The people who wanna have sex with you.Hansen: People like yourself.Bist: No, I don’t wanna have sex with—Hansen: You don’t wanna have sex with her?Bist: No.
But if he wasn’t interested in sex, why did he bring a lot more than flowers and chocolate?
Hansen: Did you bring condoms?Bist: Yes.Hansen: What else is in there besides condoms?Bist: A lotion.Hansen: Lotion?Bist: Yeah.Hansen: So why would you bring condoms and lotion if you were just here to talk with a girl?Bist: She said we’re gonna have sex.Hansen: She said?Bist: Yes.
And despite admitting he was a dateline “To Catch a Predator” viewer, Bist still doesn’t seem to realize exactly what’s going on.
Hansen: What do you think should happen to you? Bist: I really don’t know.Hansen: You really don’t know. But let me tell you something that I know. And that is I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And we’re doing a story on adults who try to meet children online for sex. If there’s anything else you’d like to tell us,
Bist walks outside and into the hands of the Flagler Beach Police. During his questioning at the police station, Bist goes back to blaming the decoy.
Bist: Well, she lured me. I would say that.Investigator (police interview): Run that by me again?Bist: She lured me...
But under more questioning—
Investigator: You drove from West Palm Beach up here. Three ½ to four hours. Got chocolates. Flowers. And lotion. And condoms. Because you were going to come up to have sex with her. Is that pretty accurate?Bist: That’s right.
Bist is charged with two felonies— an attempted lewd act on a child, and using a computer to solicit a child for sex. He could be face up to five years in prison. He later pleaded not guilty.
And because he is from Nepal, and not a U.S. citizen, his case is referred to the Department of Immigration and Customs enforcement.
Back at the undercover house, our male decoy is greeting this 39-year-old waiter named Anthony Sorrentino.
Online, Sorrentino, calling himself italianlover37, has one of the shortest and most direct chats we’ve ever seen—with a decoy who tells him he’s 14 years old.
{italianlover37} (chat log): hi{DoinDaDew1992}: hi{DoinDaDew1992}14 m flagler county u
After just 10 minutes, Sorrentino writes:
{italianlover37}what you looking for{doindadew1992} i dunno, u?{italianlover37} well hot sex what else. lol
But soon Sorrentino is suspicious:
{italianlover37} how do i know youre not cop lol{doindadew1992} durr i dunno lol. how i kno ure not my dad settin me up?{italianlover37} lol
Then he tells the boy he will perform oral sex on him, and asks to boy to call him with directions to his house.
A Perverted-Justice decoy obliges.
And within fifteen minutes sorrentino is at the door.
Male decoy (at undercover house): You can sit here if you want. Just sit down. You want something to drink or anything?Anthony Sorrentino: No, I’m okay.Decoy: No. How you been doing?Sorrentino: I’m doing okay.Decoy: Cool. So you find the place all right?Sorrentino: Yeah. What’s your name?Decoy: Scott.Sorrentino: Scott. Hansen (walks out): Anthony Sorrentino, you are a fast mover. Please have a seat right there. Please, sit down. Sit. Please. What are you doing here? Relax. Just calm down. Tell me what’s going on.Sorrentino: Nothing. I was just gonna—Hansen: Just gonna what?Sorrentino: Talk to the kid.Hansen: Talk to the kid.Sorrentino: Uh-huh (affirms).Hansen: What were you gonna talk about?Sorrentino: I don’t know. Baseball.Hansen: Baseball.Sorrentino: Football.Hansen: Football. Anything else? You seem a little more nervous than somebody who was gonna come over here and talk about baseball or football.Hansen: And how old did this boy say he was online?Sorrentino: 14.Hansen: 14. And you thought it was okay, at 39, to come over here and see a 14-year-old boy. Why?Sorrentino: Well, I was just gonna hang out with him.Hansen: Just hang out.Sorrentino: I wasn’t gonna do anything with him.Hansen: And what did you talk about online? You exchanged names and ages and about 45 seconds later, if that, you say you’re looking for hot sex. Hansen: Well, what do you suppose would have happened if there was a 14-year-old boy here—Sorrentino: I don’t know. I was—Hansen: —willing to have sex?Sorrentino: I was scared.Hansen: You were scared?Sorrentino: Yeah. I—Hansen: Why would you be scared if you were just coming over here to talk?Sorrentino: Because I just don’t think I could have done it anyway.Hansen: And you know here in Florida that’s against the law and you can go to jail for it because it’s a felony.Sorrentino: I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that.Hansen: Now, the other problem for you, is that I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC, and we’re doing a story on adults—Sorrentino: Oh, Sh*t.Hansen: --who try to meet kids for sex on—have you seen our stories before?Sorrentino: Yes.Hansen: “To Catch a Predator”?Sorrentino: Yeah.Hansen: So you’ve seen the show.Sorrentino: Uh-huh (affirms).Hansen: Well, now you’re on it. If there’s anything else you’d like to say to us, we’d like to hear it. If not, clearly you can go.Sorrentino: I’m just sorry. I just wish they didn’t air that.
Outside, Sorrentino meets the Flagler beach police.
During a search of his car, police find marijuana and condoms.
Later, Sorrentino tells the investigator he has a mental illness.
Sorrentino: Well, I’m bipolar. So, I’m on medication.Investigator: For bipolar? Okay. And have you taken all your medication today?Sorrentino: Yeah, I just take it at night.
Then he explains how the online chat started.
Investigator: What about seeing him online made you wanna talk to him?Sorrentino: Oh, I just—‘cause he was new. I never seen him online before.Investigator: Okay, how long did it take before you found out that he was 14 or 15?Sorrentino: He told me right away.Invesigator: Told you right away. Did that bother you?Sorrentino: Yeah, it did.Invesigator: It did? Okay. But still you came here and you planned to have sex with him.Sorrentino: I guess. Honestly, I was just really turned on. And I didn’t know what I was gonna do. That’s what I was thinking I guess. I didn’t know what I was gonna do.
Sorrentino is charged with two felony counts including attempting a lewd act upon a child. He also faces a misdemeanor charge for the marijuana police found in his car.
He later pleaded not guilty.
The man coming to our house on the windy Florida day drove about an hour to get there. 24-year-old David Wagner is an amateur boxer. Using the screen name davekruz2003, he chats with a decoy who says she’s 13.
At first, Wagner tells her about his boxing prowess, but later he makes it clear he’s more interested in sex.
davekruz2003 (chat log): u a virgin?jen_is_jennah: yeadavekruz2003: do u masturbate at all?jen_is_jennah: not rllydavekruz2003: do u get horny at all?jen_is_jennah: mayb loldavekruz2003: dont be shy u can tell me
He goes on to ask the girl he thinks is a virgin if he can have sex with her, and perform oral sex on her. He sends along photos of his penis, and says he’s getting sexually excited looking at her online snapshots.
He wants to come over as soon as possible, and near the end of the chat he makes sure of her age.
davekruz2003: when do u turn 14 again?jen_is_jennah: dec 21davekruz2003: oh yeah
But despite being told that she’s a couple of weeks shy of 14, he turns up at the house.
Female decoy (at undercover house): Hi.David Wagner: Hey, what’s up?Decoy: Come on in. It’s kind of windy out here. Whoo. How are you?Wagner: Good. How are you?Decoy: I’m good. It’s cold out there today.
As soon as he gets inside, he likes the locale.
Wagner: You live right on the beach. (laughs)Decoy: Yeah. You can have a seat right there. I just gotta finish packing.Wagner: Okay.Decoy: Can get like a Diet Coke and whatever you want. I’ll be back in just a minute.Wagner: All right.Chris Hansen (Walks out): How you doing?Wagner: Good. How are you?Hansen: Good. What’s happening?Wagner: Nothing much.Hansen: Yeah? Whatcha doing here?Wagner: I’m just checking the place out.Hansen: Checking the place out. What? Are you thinking of buying it? Or—Wagner: Huh? No, no. I’m just looking really.Hansen: Yeah.Wagner: Why? Is there like an open house going on today?Hansen: No. Well, there is sort of an open house going on, but it’s sort of a different open house.Wagner: Okay.Wagner: I was just seeing— visiting a friend, Jenna.Hansen: Jenna. And how did you meet Jenna?Wagner: Oh, we were just talking online and stuff.
Wagner tells me they were just talking about sports. That’s when he starts heading towards the door.
But then, he decides to answer a few more questions.
Hansen: How old is Jenna?Wagner: I’m not sure actually.Hansen: I’ve got the chat log.Wagner: Okay.Hansen: So you should probably start telling the truth now.Wagner: Okay.Hansen: How old is Jenna?Wagner: Fourteen I think? 13, 14?Hansen: 13. And how old are you?Wagner: 24.Hansen: 24?Wagner: Right.Hansen: And what’s a 24-year-old doing looking to be with a 13-year-old?Wagner: I’m not looking to be with her. We were just talking and stuff.Hansen: Just talking. What were you talking about?Wagner: Just all kinds of stuff.Hansen: “You a virgin?” “Yeah.” “Do you masturbate at all?” “Not really.” “Do you get horny at all?” “Maybe.” “You can tell me. Wagner: I was just messing around, joking around.Hansen: Just messing around with a 13-year-old girl.Wagner: Yeah. Not really planning on anything, really.Hansen: “I’m strokin’ my **** right now and looking at your pics...”
As I continue, Wagner remembers that he left his car lights on.
Wagner: I swear I’ll be right back. My car’s gonna die. I’m serious.Hansen: Well—Wagner: I just need to turn the lights off—Hansen: There’s something you need to know before you go.Wagner: Right.Hansen: Why did you leave the lights on your car anyway? You were gonna pick this girl up?Wagner: Yeah, I just— yeah.Hansen: And take her where?Wagner: I don’t know. Just around there—Hansen: Just around the area. You were gonna pick up a 13-year-old girl and just ride around.
In his chat, he’d talks about maybe taking her for a ride along the beach. But the fact is, he’ll soon be going for a ride with someone else.
Wagner: Yeah. I’ll be right back.Hansen: Now, before—Wagner: I’ll be right back.Hansen: Before you go, let me just tell you something, sir.
He doesn’t wait to hear who I am, and meets the Flagler Beach police outside. Wagner is brought back to the station.
Investigator: So are you requesting to have an attorney present during any questioning?Wagner: Yes.
He’s charged with three felony counts, including transmitting images harmful to a minor. He later pleaded not guilty.
Despite the cold weather, our next visitor arrives with the top down on his custom convertible.
Female Decoy: Come on inside.Charles Gregory Green: You don’t know where you live.Decoy: (laughs) It’s windy out here. Come in. How was the ride? It’s cold out there today.Green: Cold, yeah.
This is 58-year-old Charles Gregory Green, a self-employed repairman and volunteer firefighter.
Online, he uses the screen name greg_green98 to chat with a decoy who says that she’s thirteen.
Green writes:
greg_green98 (chat log): Kinda young to be in herelindsay_was_here1993: guess i dont feel like i am
He goes on to tell the decoy about female orgasms, and how a part of his anatomy might be too big to have sex with her.
But then he writes:
greg_green98: Darling I would love to jus throw you on a bed and make love to you right offgreg_green98: Some guys want to wear aodg collar and a leash and be treated like a doggreg_green98: Bondage is a whole nuther deal lindsay_was_here1993: bondage?
Then he explains about some sexual fetishes, and bondage.
greg_green98: My ex gf liked to have her wrists tied to the bed postslindsay_was_here1993: wow, did u do it for her?greg_green98: Uh huh
He says he’ll try that on her.
And now here he is in the house.
Female decoy: Well, what do you wanna do?
He could take her for a ride in his convertible — but then he thinks better of it.
Green: It’s pretty cold for a ride.
On the other hand, it’s pretty warm inside...
Green: Whoo, man. Can I take off my jacket?Decoy: Yeah, go ahead. I’m gonna go grab a soda actually. I’m kind of cold. So I’ll be right back.Hansen (walks out): Have a seat back over there for me.Green: Nah, that’s okay.Hansen: You need to know that I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And I need to talk to you about why you’re here, sir. (Green walks out)
Outside the police are ready.
Back at the police station, green tells the investigators he was joking about all the sex. He says he was just trying to educate the girl.
Det. Liz Williams: So, you tried to educate her about anatomy?Green: Yeah.Det. Williams: About oral sex?Green: Well, she told me about oral sex, now.Det. Williams: And then about masturbating—Green: Yeah. We talked about that.Det. Williams: How to satisfy herself—Green: We talked about that.
Despite his graphic sexual online chat, Green says he was not planning on having sex with the girl.
Green later pleaded not guilty to two felony counts, including an attempted lewd act on a child.
Meet 25-year-old Brian Ruffino. Using the screen name "mandaringuy78," Ruffino chatted online with a decoy who told him she’s 13.
mandaringuy78 (chat log): whats your bra size?heyshuddup: 32a
Ruffino asks her bra size, if she wants to get naked with him, and if he can probe her sexually.
But like some other men who’ve become more aware of online stings, he gets suspicious when she invites him to her house.
mandaringuy78: your not a cop or anything are u
Sure enough, apparently knowing what he’s doing might be against the law.
Decoy: You can come in. Hi.Brian Ruffino: Hi.Decoy: How are you?Ruffino: Pretty good. How you doing?Decoy: Good. It’s windy out there today, huh?And despite his suspicions, Ruffino decides to come to the undercover house.Decoy: Well-- (laughs) so what do you wanna do?Ruffino: I don’t care.Decoy: Have any ideas? (laughs) No? Well, I think I’m gonna go change then.Hansen: Brian, I’ve got some ideas for you.
Ruffino clearly doesn’t want to hear them, but he will be talking to the police.
Ruffino tells the investigator he has two small children at home and another on the way.
So why would he come to visit an underage teen?
Det. Liz Williams (police interview): You guys talked and made arrangements for you to come here and have sex together?Ruffino: It wasn’t sex.
Ruffino says it’s all a misunderstanding.
Det. Williams: But yeah, you said—Ruffino: Alright.Det. Williams: You know, you were gonna do some sexual things—Ruffino: Okay. I didn’t know what you meant by—Det. Williams: Yeah. Yeah. Like fingering and stuff like that. So, that’s what you came to do. Okay.Ruffino: Yes. I didn’t—I thought you were talking about intercourse
Ruffino later pleaded not guilty to two felony counts.
Some of the men were wary of meeting someone they thought was an underage teen at a house, so they asked to meet in a more public place.
So, instead of confronting those men inside the house, we set up five remote-control, hidden camera on the beach, and on the walkway that crosses the dune. The plan was for me to meet the men on the walkway after they approached the decoy.
Our first visitor at the beach is 34-year-old Michael Collins, a swimming pool maintenance man and father of two. He drove about 60 miles to get to the location.
Online, collins uses the screen name "jstforfun007," and subtracts 11 years from his age. He chats with a decoy named Alison, who tells him she’s 14.
In their very first conversation, Collins asks:
jstforfun007 (chat log): how far have you gone sexually?daddys_cutie_petutie: i sorta don’t kiss and tell
Collins goes on to say what he’ll do when they meet in person.
jstforfun007: first I would undress you and lay you down, kiss ALL over your body and completely relax you. hows that for starters! mmmmm I could so go on !!daddys_cutie_petutie: i would love that
The next day, Collins seems well aware that sex with 13-year-old Alison would be wrong when the decoy writes:
daddys_cutie_petutie: do u want to make love to me?jstforfun007: if you was,,, 18 yes,, at 14,, yuo scare me !! daddys_cutie_petutie: so do u not want to talk to me anymore? jstforfun007: talk yes,, about sex stuff no,, need to mature a lil more before your ready for me !!daddys_cutie_petutie: that’s cool
But Collins chats with Alision on and off for more than three weeks, and continues to write things like this, apparently referring to group sex:
jstforfun007: got any friends who you wanna double team me w.? or you think you can handle me!:D
The decoy says she’ll be alone on the weekend, and another Perverted-Justice decoy seals the deal on the phone.
We deploy our 19-year-old actress down to the beach along with the smiley kite mentioned in the chat. We also send along some extra security out of camera range.
And here comes Collins, right on time.
Officer Kevin Pineda of the Flagler Beach Police is stationed right under that walkway—along with his partner. They’re ready in case Collins decides to run.
Hansen: Give me a sense of what it was like crouching down beneath the walkway there. Officer Kevin Pineda: The sand’s falling into our face from his shoes, just walking back and forth, which was very suspenseful for us. Because we had no idea if he was gonna jump down, see us, and our position was given away.
And Collins does follow the decoy—right down to the beach and within just a few feet of the police.
We think Collins spots the officers, gets back up on the walkway, and starts heading towards his car.
That’s when our Dateline crew and I approach him.
Hansen (approaching Collins): Can I talk to you for a minute?Michael Collins: Sure.Hansen: What are you up to today? What are you here for? Collins: To meet her, I talked to her on lineHansen: Who is she?Collins: um, Allie? Chris: Allie. And how old is Allie.Collins: she said she was 14 Chris: 14. And how old are you? Collins: um, 33? Chris: 33. And what’s a 33-year-old man coming to meet a 14-year-old girl for? Collins: Just to say hiHansen: Just to say hi. Collins: That’s it.
Collins is 34, but I have other things I want to talk to him about.
Hansen: Can I show you a couple of things? Collins: sure
Collins looks at his online photo and his chat.
Hansen: Where you ask her a lot of sexually explicit things—How far have you gone sexually. She says I sorta don’t kiss and tell. Tell me what womanly things you’ve done in your short years as an adult? Collins: I had no intentions, no nothing.Hansen: No intentions, no nothing.Hansen: So you drove 60 miles to see a 14-year-old girl?Collins: Just to say hi. I wasn’t—Hansen: Just to say hi?Hansen: But here you say, “So next after I undress you and kiss you all over, would you like me to lick your p**** and make you quiver?” Is that just coming over to say hi?Collins: That was—nothing—when I said I was coming over, any sexual. Absolutely not. Hansen: How can you say that? Oh here’s one. “Got any friends who you wanna double team with me? Or you think you can handle me?”Collins: That was all a joke—Hansen: All a joke. Do you think that’s appropriate to joke that way with a 14-year-old girl?Collins: No. But I was on an adult site and just in there messing around for someone to chat to.Hansen: Yeah? And why did you pick someone who said they were 14 years old?Collins: I didn’t pick ‘em.Hansen: You didn’t pick ‘em. So she picked you?Collins: I’ve never met anybody online.Hansen: You’ve never met anybody online. Do you know how often Ihear that? You ever watch Dateline NBC?Collins: Yeah.Hansen: You ever see our stories—Collins: Yes.Hansen: —on computer predators? What’d you think of those stories?Collins: I didn’t think much about ‘em. I mean—Hansen: Well this is one of those stories. I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. We’re doing a story on adults who try to meet minors online for sex. If there’s anything else you’d like to tell me, I’d like to hear it. If not—Collins: This is silly.Hansen: What’s silly?Collins: All of this is silly—
Silly to him perhaps... but just for a moment until he sees the police at the end of the boardwalk.
Like the others, Collins is taken back to the Flagler beach police station.
Investigator: All right, cool. Did you have any questions that you wanted to ask me?Collins: How much trouble am I in?
He tells investigators his family is about to get bigger.
Investigator: How old are your kids?Collins: Four and six.Investigator: Oh, so you got young ones. Are they boys, girls?Collins: Girls.Investigator: Two girls?Collins: And a four month—my wife’s four months pregnant. So—Investigator: Oh, so you’ve got another one on the way?Collins:Uh-huh (affirms).Investigator: Wow.Collins: Yep, wow.Investigator: Yeah, what do you think your wife’s going to say?Collins: I don’t know. What would you say?Investigator: I’d be pretty upset.Collins: Yeah, me too.
Collins continues to deny that he was coming to have sex with a 14-year-old, but he does admit to a different investigator that his sexy online chat was not a good idea.
Det. Williams: Do you think that what you said to her was appropriate?Collins: At times, no.Det. Williams: And why did you do it?Collins: Just bored.
Then Collins admits something we didn’t know—he was recently arrested.
Det. Williams: And what was that for?Collins: Me and my wife getting into arguments.Det. Williams: Domestic violence?Collins: Uh-huh (affirms).
The charges in that case were dropped. In the Flagler Beach case, Collins later pleaded not guilty to two felony counts, including using a computer to solicit a child for sex.
During our four-day investigation in Flagler Beach, 21 men are arrested and charged with felonies. So far, all of them have pleaded not guilty.
Next week, we continue our investigations at the beach.
And we’ll have a Dateline “To Catch A Predator” first—two different men who have one thing in common.
Chris Hansen (footage): Please, come here. I want you guys to meet each other. This is TennisBoy213. And Tennis Boy, this is SlaveToMistresses, right?
Both are coming to visit a girl who said she’s 13 years old.
And you’ll meet a police officer who drove hours to get here with a gun in his pocket and an arsenal in his car.
Officer (going over weapons laid out on car, talking to other officer): Everything he had, all the weapons, were chambered. Ready to go. I think this guy has potential to be a very dangerous person.Det. Liz Williams: There was probably an angel sitting on everybody’s shoulder that night.
Next week as Dateline, “To Catch a Predator” continues from Florida.