Stafford deputies arrest N.C. man in Net sex case

Stafford arrests North Carolina man on Internet sex charges

By KEITH EPPS

Date published: 1/25/2007

By KEITH EPPS

Stafford County's search for Internet pedophiles has resulted in the arrest of a man in North Carolina.

Officials arrested Donald Richard Hance Jr., 58, of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., at his home Monday. He is charged with attempting to take indecent liberties with a juvenile and using an electronic communications device to solicit a juvenile.

Hance is being held in North Carolina awaiting extradition to Virginia.

According to Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett, the investigation stared in November when Hance allegedly contacted Stafford Detective C. Darryl Wells and Dumfries Town Police Detective John Chapman online.

Both Wells and Chapman were pretending to be 13-year-old boys as they chatted online.

Jett said that during the chat sessions the suspect suggested explicit sexual acts to be carried out by him and the boys. Jett said Hance also sent sexually explicit material to the officers via a webcam.

Wells and Chapman traveled to North Carolina this week with search warrants obtained in Stafford. With the assistance of the Harnett County Sheriff's Office, they arrested Hance at his home.

They seized his computer and other items. Jett said more charges are pending.

"Sexual predators who target children are everywhere on the Internet, even places that you would least expect," Jett said.

Jett said his office is committed to protecting children, but needs the help of parents monitoring their children's Internet activities.

To reach KEITH EPPS:540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 1/25/2007