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Sting on Web nets 9 arrests
Northern Virginia crimes-against-children task force announces nine arrestsDate published: 4/2/2005
By BILL FREEHLING
ALEXANDRIA--A police task force formed to crack down on online sexual predators has arrested nine men, including a youth minister. The men, who range in age from 19 to 52, are accused of using the Internet to sexually lure young teenage girls into meeting them. The list includes David Lee Chapman, a 41-year-old engineer who lives in Fredericksburg, and Michael Dean Barber, a 52-year-old youth minister from Arlington who has worked with children across the state and region. Law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies throughout Northern Virginia announced the arrests yesterday at a news conference in Alexandria. Col. Steve Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said there's been a "rapid explosion of online child exploitation, pornography and predators." "These predators are surfing the Net for your sons and daughters," Flaherty said. The Northern Virginia-D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was formed in January with a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. It will continue to work toward additional busts. Three of the arrests came during two weeks of training in January. The other six occurred during a 10-day investigation within the past two weeks in which police met in a small room armed with laptops in a self-described "fishing expedition." Officers cast out the bait by posing as young girls--about 12 or 13 years old--in Internet chat rooms. They say they got sexually suggestive responses--usually within a few minutes--seeking a meeting time and place. Instead of a young girl standing at the prearranged spot, the men found officers waiting with handcuffs. Several of the men--including Barber--were arrested in Stafford County, which participated in the task force. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County law enforcement officers aren't involved in this group, but they've also been cracking down on the problem. Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett said Barber, and maybe several of the others, will likely be prosecuted in Stafford. The men could also face federal charges. Police focused on Barber yesterday, saying he was affiliated with the Community of Christ Church and worked with many children one on one.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 4/2/2005
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