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24 arrested in Fort Myers pedophile sting
Two men charged are from Punta Gorda
A red rose.
A teddy bear.
Alcohol. Condoms. Duct tape. Rope.
Twenty-four men -- including two from Punta Gorda -- came to Fort Myers this weekend bringing tools of seduction, coercion and rape. They thought they would meet a child home alone. Instead, they found the police and a national news correspondent lying in wait.
Fort Myers Police Chief Hilton Daniels said the men traveled from around the state to a decoy house in the city, enticed by a national group called Perverted-Justice whose members pose as children under 16 in computer chat rooms in the hopes of catching pedophiles.
In a sting that has been planned since January, they put up profiles on sites popular with teens like America Online, Yahoo, LiveJournal and Xanga and waited for the come-ons to begin. They made contact with about 200 men, some from as far away as Tallahassee, including the 24 who turned up in Fort Myers this weekend. Each is accused of soliciting a child over the Internet. Most also face charges of attempting a lewd and lascivious act against a child.
Arrested were: Peter Ernandez, 30, of Punta Gorda; David W. Schumacher Jr., 21, of Punta Gorda; Thomas Coffen, 31, of Brooksville; Michael Wilusz, 49, of Lakeland; Raul A. Brenes, 23, of Lake Worth; Ellahzar R. Henson, 24, of St. Petersburg; Kenneth Forton, 30, of Wellington; Donald L. Morrison, 48, of North Fort Myers; Miguel L. Lozoya, 22, of Orlando; Elias Bailon, 22, of Miami; Jose E. Falcon, 41, of Miami; Thomas S. Moffitt, 45, of Hollywood; Calvin L. Greer, 31, of Conway, Ark.; Eric M. Thornton, 27, of Jupiter; Daniel Trust, 30, of Riverview; Dennis B. Ramsey, 45, of Ocala; Brian Emmons, 30, of Orlando; Ryan D. McIntosh, 23, of Lehigh Acres; Dallas Lee, 40, of Lehigh Acres; Brian Gosselin, 32, of Fort Myers; Marvin J. Lakhan, 30, of Coconut Creek; Thomas D. Campbell, 61, of Cape Coral; and Clifford E. Wallach, 40, of Naples.
None are listed in Florida's online database of sex offenders and predators.
Greer and Thornton also are charged with transmitting a harmful image.
Wallach is accused of child neglect in addition to the sex crime. Authorities say he brought his 5-year-old son along to the house where he thought he would be having oral sex with a 14-year-old boy.
According to a Fort Myers Police Department report, Wallach told investigators he thought he was corresponding with a teen boy he met in a male-for-male chat room Sunday. He sent the boy a picture of himself and his son, he said.
Police confiscated 16 vehicles as part of the sting, as well as more than 20 computers.
Twenty-one of the 24 men arrested confessed their intentions, Daniels said.
Several of the men arrested made comments that led him to believe they could have molested other children in the past or have illicit pictures of underage sex on their computer hard drives, Daniels said. Those cases remain under investigation.
One of the men was the head of a youth church organization, he added.
The scenes, all caught on tape by NBC's "Dateline" as part of its "To Catch a Predator" feature, shocked even veteran law enforcement agents.
Few men arrived empty-handed. Daniels said several brought their laptop computers and alcohol. At least one had male enhancement pills. One had rope and duct tape.
Another arrived at the house and immediately stripped off his clothes.
"That guy who showed up with rope and duct tape," Daniels said. "What was he going to do? That man who showed up naked, what does that say? It's scary."
Daniels said one man had his sister and her two kids drop him off at the house. Another took a bus from the east coast, then a cab to the decoy home.
Waving to them from a window was a female decoy from Perverted-Justice, a Web-based group started in 2001 with the intent of posting the user names of men who solicit children in online chat rooms. Soon, the group discovered it could work with law enforcement agencies to do more.
A spokesman for the group, who declined to give his real name, saying many of its members had received death threats, said its staff posts profiles as teen boys and girls. They don't approach men and if a conversation starts, they don't bring up sex.
If the topic turns that way, though, the group has a record of what the possible pedophile writes. Working in connection with law enforcement agencies like the Fort Myers Police Department, they make phone contact with some and set up meetings.
The female decoy, who also asked not to be named, said she wears boy's clothing on some stings and acts as a girl during others. A baseball cap pulled low onto her face and wearing a baggy sweatshirt, she motions to each man through a window or runs into the house after motioning him in.
When the man follows, she disappears into another room, claiming to need to change her shirt or attend to a small injury.
That's when some men begin to make themselves comfortable -- until "Dateline" shows up.
The NBC program has filmed five segments in cities across the country shadowing the efforts of Perverted-Justice.
Allan Maraynes, the show's senior producer, said several shows already have aired featuring stings similar to this weekend's in Fort Myers. Another is planned for Wednesday at 8 p.m.
"I think people are interested because we're able to illustrate this in a very real way," he said. "Everyone has known conceptually that this is a problem. When you see how many men are willing to get in a car and drive hours to go into someone else's house and encounter a child, it hits home."
The Fort Myers footage will be aired sometime in May, according to NBC.
Though there were no victims involved in the sting, Daniels said he regularly gets calls from parents who say their child was sexually solicited in a chat room.
Not all sex offenders are as brazen as to plot to enter a child's home, Daniels said. They try to lure their victims away, sending gifts, even buying plane tickets or admission into theme parks, he said.
And like the 24 arrested this weekend, many are not known sex offenders, he said.
"This is just the everyday person next door," Daniels said.
By ANNE MARIE APOLLO
Naples Daily News
Just makes me sick, and one of the guys brought his 5 year old son! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Two men charged are from Punta Gorda
A red rose.
A teddy bear.
Alcohol. Condoms. Duct tape. Rope.
Twenty-four men -- including two from Punta Gorda -- came to Fort Myers this weekend bringing tools of seduction, coercion and rape. They thought they would meet a child home alone. Instead, they found the police and a national news correspondent lying in wait.
Fort Myers Police Chief Hilton Daniels said the men traveled from around the state to a decoy house in the city, enticed by a national group called Perverted-Justice whose members pose as children under 16 in computer chat rooms in the hopes of catching pedophiles.
In a sting that has been planned since January, they put up profiles on sites popular with teens like America Online, Yahoo, LiveJournal and Xanga and waited for the come-ons to begin. They made contact with about 200 men, some from as far away as Tallahassee, including the 24 who turned up in Fort Myers this weekend. Each is accused of soliciting a child over the Internet. Most also face charges of attempting a lewd and lascivious act against a child.
Arrested were: Peter Ernandez, 30, of Punta Gorda; David W. Schumacher Jr., 21, of Punta Gorda; Thomas Coffen, 31, of Brooksville; Michael Wilusz, 49, of Lakeland; Raul A. Brenes, 23, of Lake Worth; Ellahzar R. Henson, 24, of St. Petersburg; Kenneth Forton, 30, of Wellington; Donald L. Morrison, 48, of North Fort Myers; Miguel L. Lozoya, 22, of Orlando; Elias Bailon, 22, of Miami; Jose E. Falcon, 41, of Miami; Thomas S. Moffitt, 45, of Hollywood; Calvin L. Greer, 31, of Conway, Ark.; Eric M. Thornton, 27, of Jupiter; Daniel Trust, 30, of Riverview; Dennis B. Ramsey, 45, of Ocala; Brian Emmons, 30, of Orlando; Ryan D. McIntosh, 23, of Lehigh Acres; Dallas Lee, 40, of Lehigh Acres; Brian Gosselin, 32, of Fort Myers; Marvin J. Lakhan, 30, of Coconut Creek; Thomas D. Campbell, 61, of Cape Coral; and Clifford E. Wallach, 40, of Naples.
None are listed in Florida's online database of sex offenders and predators.
Greer and Thornton also are charged with transmitting a harmful image.
Wallach is accused of child neglect in addition to the sex crime. Authorities say he brought his 5-year-old son along to the house where he thought he would be having oral sex with a 14-year-old boy.
According to a Fort Myers Police Department report, Wallach told investigators he thought he was corresponding with a teen boy he met in a male-for-male chat room Sunday. He sent the boy a picture of himself and his son, he said.
Police confiscated 16 vehicles as part of the sting, as well as more than 20 computers.
Twenty-one of the 24 men arrested confessed their intentions, Daniels said.
Several of the men arrested made comments that led him to believe they could have molested other children in the past or have illicit pictures of underage sex on their computer hard drives, Daniels said. Those cases remain under investigation.
One of the men was the head of a youth church organization, he added.
The scenes, all caught on tape by NBC's "Dateline" as part of its "To Catch a Predator" feature, shocked even veteran law enforcement agents.
Few men arrived empty-handed. Daniels said several brought their laptop computers and alcohol. At least one had male enhancement pills. One had rope and duct tape.
Another arrived at the house and immediately stripped off his clothes.
"That guy who showed up with rope and duct tape," Daniels said. "What was he going to do? That man who showed up naked, what does that say? It's scary."
Daniels said one man had his sister and her two kids drop him off at the house. Another took a bus from the east coast, then a cab to the decoy home.
Waving to them from a window was a female decoy from Perverted-Justice, a Web-based group started in 2001 with the intent of posting the user names of men who solicit children in online chat rooms. Soon, the group discovered it could work with law enforcement agencies to do more.
A spokesman for the group, who declined to give his real name, saying many of its members had received death threats, said its staff posts profiles as teen boys and girls. They don't approach men and if a conversation starts, they don't bring up sex.
If the topic turns that way, though, the group has a record of what the possible pedophile writes. Working in connection with law enforcement agencies like the Fort Myers Police Department, they make phone contact with some and set up meetings.
The female decoy, who also asked not to be named, said she wears boy's clothing on some stings and acts as a girl during others. A baseball cap pulled low onto her face and wearing a baggy sweatshirt, she motions to each man through a window or runs into the house after motioning him in.
When the man follows, she disappears into another room, claiming to need to change her shirt or attend to a small injury.
That's when some men begin to make themselves comfortable -- until "Dateline" shows up.
The NBC program has filmed five segments in cities across the country shadowing the efforts of Perverted-Justice.
Allan Maraynes, the show's senior producer, said several shows already have aired featuring stings similar to this weekend's in Fort Myers. Another is planned for Wednesday at 8 p.m.
"I think people are interested because we're able to illustrate this in a very real way," he said. "Everyone has known conceptually that this is a problem. When you see how many men are willing to get in a car and drive hours to go into someone else's house and encounter a child, it hits home."
The Fort Myers footage will be aired sometime in May, according to NBC.
Though there were no victims involved in the sting, Daniels said he regularly gets calls from parents who say their child was sexually solicited in a chat room.
Not all sex offenders are as brazen as to plot to enter a child's home, Daniels said. They try to lure their victims away, sending gifts, even buying plane tickets or admission into theme parks, he said.
And like the 24 arrested this weekend, many are not known sex offenders, he said.
"This is just the everyday person next door," Daniels said.
By ANNE MARIE APOLLO
Naples Daily News
Just makes me sick, and one of the guys brought his 5 year old son! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
