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Internet Predator Sting Nets 3 Arrests: Trio Allegedly Sought Meeting With Girl, 15

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Robin Erb, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Mar. 31--A University of Findlay computer systems manager is on administrative leave after his arrest during a sting last weekend targeting Internet predators.

Investigators say Jay W. Reffner, 30, a 10-year employee of the university, traveled to a home near Greenville, Ohio - about 100 miles southwest of Findlay - to meet a 15-year-old girl he had e-mailed.

But "Sara," the teenager, was actually an undercover operative for Perverted Justice. Members of the citizens group, which has become well known for its cooperation with Dateline NBC, pose as teenagers on the Internet. Their work has led to dozens of arrests of adults who travel to meet the "teenagers" for sex.

E-mail contact was made at Web sites, including MySpace.com, and in chat rooms at Yahoo.com and XY.com, Darke County deputies said.

Mr. Reffner, who was charged with attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony, could not be reached for comment. He was released from the Darke County jail on a $5,000 bond.

University spokesman Rebecca Shell said Mr. Reffner is part of the school's "information technology team," and his primary responsibility is maintaining the school's Web site.

Two other area men also were arrested.

Robb E. Kline, 20, of 6134 Northtowne Ct., an unemployed Army Reservist, and Roger W. Brummitt, 45, of Defiance, an unemployed truck driver, were both charged with attempted unlawful sexual conduct. Each is accused of trying to meet a person they believed was a 13-year-old girl online.

In all, 18 men were arrested in a three-day sting coordinated by Dateline NBC for its To Catch a Predator series.

When the men arrived at the house - some bringing condoms - they faced a reporter and TV cameras instead.

Local investigators were surprised by the turnout.

"We had it so tight sometimes, two stopped at the same time. That happened twice, actually. It was a zoo sometimes," said Darke County Sheriff's Detective Mike Burns.

But Mr. Brummit called the operation a "set-up" and said he is being unfairly prosecuted.

"I was wrong for going down there, don't get me wrong. But I was lured down there," Mr. Brummit said, adding that he is "afraid to face people."

Had an underage girl been waiting for him, he said, he would have "called the law."

None of the three area men have previous arrests on sex-related charges, according to Detective Burns.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

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Source: The Blade

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