internet sting

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24 Hour News 8 Exclusive

Internet predator sting nabs men in GR

Posted: Oct 19, 2008 10:35 PM EDT

Updated: Oct 20, 2008 09:08 PM EDT

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) -- Twenty-one men were arrested for soliciting sex from underage girls over the Internet during a three-day sting at a Grand Rapids Township home.

For weeks, volunteers with the group Perverted Justice have chatted with 200 men from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. The suspects had already contacted the "teens" - adults acting as decoys - in online chat rooms. The decoys then agreed to meet the suspects for sex.

One by one the men showed up at the door as Del Harvey, a young-looking 26-year-old volunteer with Perverted Justice, greeted them. The men thought they were following their 13-year-old date. Instead, they were met with armed agents and deputies.

"You've go to be kidding me" said one of the suspects as he was handcuffed and led away.

24 Hour News 8 obtained exclusive access to the operation, which began Friday afternoon and was conducted by the Michigan Attorney General's Office and Kent County Sheriff's Department.

Of those arrested, 24 Hour News 8 has found that only a few had criminal records prior to this weekend's arrests. Most were minor run-ins with the law, including delivery of marijuana, disturbing the peace and misdemeanor larceny.

The criminal histories, or in many cases the lack of any, goes along with what many experts have warned. These predators could be anyone, including the innocent-acting guy next door.

"What we hope, quite frankly, working with your station, is that for a long time, predators think twice, or three or four times, before they think about showing up to meet some kid -- 13- or 14-year-old -- from the greater Grand Rapids area," said Attorney General Michael Cox.

Some of the men drove more than 100 miles to the home where the sting occurred. Others made much shorter trips, from Wyoming and Byron Center.

Another suspect - 20-year-old Eric Wesche - was recently a part-time coach for the JV soccer team at Cedar Springs High School. Wesche allegedly made a date with the "online teen" the day before the junior varsity soccer season ended.

School officials met with team members Monday afternoon and sent letters home to parents notifying them of Wesche's arrest. They say they have no reports of incidents involving Wesche and the players.

On Monday, 24 Hour News 8 knocked on Wesche's door, and the doors of six other men from the Grand Rapids area busted this weekend, from rural Cedar Springs, to upscale East Grand Rapids, to suburban Wyoming. No one answered.

While the local men aren't talking, Tyson Jenkins is. He is the suspect who drove three hours, from Monterey, Indiana to Grand Rapids Township to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

Jenkins is what experts would call a textbook predator. He thought about getting caught, but didn't think he had done enough to get busted. He told 24 Hour News 8 he never intended to carry out his liaison.

"A lot of times I thought that, ya know...all fun. 'Cause it's no contact. Nothin'. Just fun," said Jenkins, a disabled Gulf War Veteran.

He is married but has no children.

It wasn't the first time Jenkins talked with underage girls on the Internet. But he claims the other conversations never turned sexual.

Transcripts of Jenkins' Internet chat with the decoy suggest something else. In the conversations, Jenkins claims to have had sex with another 13-year-old.

All of the suspects remain lodged in the Kent County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Cox said an actual appearance by a suspect can boost the state's case against them in court. He said there is also a greater benefit to the public.

"This ought to give everyone out there a sense of how determined some of these folks are. That should be a very scary prospect for folks."

Men Charged in Predator Sting:

Davis, Fredrick E. 7/18/1943 Elkhart, IN

Wesche, Eric Carl 3/24/1988 Cedar Springs

Aspy, Larry 9/8/1954 Portland, IN

Greenberg, Mike 9/12/1978 Hazel Park

Swanson, Nathan Allen 8/1/1986 Wyoming

Macias, Javier 5/7/1984, Addison, IL

Jenkins, Tyson Dean 5/8/1973, Monterey, IN

Schutze, Andrew 3/22/1977 Buchanan

Ullery, Jason Lee 7/19/1974 Cedar Springs

Ebels, Jason Jay 11/14/1983 Byron Center

Morrow, Joseph George 8/7/1973, Macomb

Lawson, Jason Paul 5/7/1976, Watervliet

Dasaratha, Manikandan 10/28/1978 , Auburn Hills

Jahnke, Brad 1/19/1980, Kentwood

Simpson, Randy Allen 11/26/1983, Allegan

Shaler, Michael Forrest 10/12/1976 , Saginaw

Rudisel, Paul Charles 11/9/1961, Kewadin

Bigelow, Jason Robert 9/28/1980, Jonesville

Wells, Bradley Lynn 4/14/1963 Wyoming

Ray, Todd Joseph 8/17/1970 Commerce Township

Box, Jarrad Lawrence 10/22/1984 East Grand Rapids

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