What Happens in Vegas DOESN’t Stay in Vegas! Off-Duty Special Agent Nabs Child Sexual Predator While at Vegas Conference

To: STATE EDITORS

Contact: Rusty Hills or Matt Frendewey of the Office of Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, +1-517-373-8060

LANSING, Mich.,Oct. 15/ PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Attorney General Mike Cox announced today the arrest of a 49-year-old man in Las Vegas, Nevada, for soliciting sex over the Internet from a person he believed to be a 13-year-old boy from Michigan. The suspect, whose name is not being released until formal charges are filed in Clark County, Nevada, believed he was chatting online with the 13-year-old boy from Michigan who was vacationing with his mother in Las Vegas. However, he was chatting with a Special Agent from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.

The Special Agent was in Las Vegas for specialized computer training that will assist him in identifying online child sexual predators. The training was paid for through a grant from the United States Department of Justice. While on a break from the training, the Special Agent from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office was online and was contacted by the suspect while in a chat room. The suspect offered to meet the boy at the hotel where the Special Agent was staying. The Special Agent contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which then arranged to meet with the suspect. When the suspect arrived at the hotel to meet the 13-year-old boy, he was taken into custody by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers.

“This shows tremendous dedication by our Special Agent,” Mike Cox said. “Unfortunately, it also demonstrates that Internet predators can strike anywhere, anytime.”

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Since its restructuring, Cox’s Child and Public Protection Unit has arrested 147 Internet sexual predators. Attorney General Cox encourages parents to visit http://www.michigan.gov/agfor tips on safe Internet usage for children. Citizens can also report suspected Internet child predators via the Report Internet Abuses Against Children link or by calling the Child and Public Protection Unit at (313) 456-0180.

SOURCE Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox

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