Jerry Jones must be so proud. 6 Houston-area men caught in cyber-sex sting Six from the Houston area were indicted today after state authorities, using a new van equipped with wireless satellite computer devices, arrested them in a cyber-sex sting. Clockwise from top left: Mohamed Al-Kalla, Katy; Gregory Battson, Houston; Patrick Craig, Spring; Michael Penton, Magnolia; Jason Scott, Richwood; and Shawn Stauffer, Houston. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2643783 Texas authorities have gone mobile in their battle against Internet surfers using chat rooms to set up illegal sexual liaisons with underage girls. Seven men were indicted today after authorities from Attorney General Greg Abbott's office, using a new van equipped with high-speed wireless satellite computer devices, arrested them in Huntsville for arranging to have sex with what they thought were 13- or 14-year-old girls they contacted online. The underage girls really were state investigators. "This was the rollout of this new mobile lab," Abbott said at a Houston news conference. "Now we have the tools, technology and ability to go anywhere in the state of Texas." The mobile operation, believed to be the first in the nation, is paid with a grant from the governor's office. "In many of our rural areas, they lack the infrastructure we need to support this kind of investigation," David Boatright, chief of the criminal investigative division of the attorney general's office, said. "So we now have the technology and ability to bring it with us. It's self-contained and we're ready to go." Abbott personally appeared before a Walker County grand jury today in Huntsville to secure the indictments. The men, six from the Houston area and one from Fort Worth, were arrested over about a four-week period from late March to late April. Some are free on bond, others remain jailed. "I wanted to be sure we sent a clear signal to the grand jurors of Walker County about how very serious this case is, this crime is, and how we're dealing with a new kind of crime they may not have had to deal with when they were children," Abbott said, explaining his presence before the grand jury. "Today, parents have to be concerned about the vast new playground of cyberspace and the dangers it provides." Over the 13 months since a cyber crimes unit was established in the attorney general's office, 48 people have been arrested and eight convicted. Charges against the seven indicted Wednesday ranged from attempted sexual assault of a minor to attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child. All are felonies. "It will impact the rest of their lives," Abbott said of the convictions. "They will be a registered sex offender." They also face prison time depending on the charge. At least one of the previous men convicted, because of his record, received a 40-year term, Abbott said. Boatright said it takes only a few minutes for officers posing as teenage girls to get responses in Internet chat rooms that then typically carry over to instant messenger programs where the men arrange for meetings with the girl. In one of the cases Wednesday, a man from Fort Worth drove 200 miles for what he thought was a sexual encounter. "They are very surprised and disappointed when the person they see is not 13-year-old Amy but instead is a middle-aged investigator from the office of the attorney general," Boatright said. Those indicted Wednesday were Shawn Stauffer, 25, of Houston; Jason Scott, 21, of Richwood; Patrick Craig, 22, of Spring; Mohamed Khair Al-Kalla, 23, of Katy; Michael Penton, 44, of Magnolia; Gregory Battson, 32, from Houston; and Kent Steffler, 47, from Fort Worth.
Jeeze, shouldn't the focus be on the acts of these creeps instead of the fact one has on a Cowboys hat?
True, they are creeps, said to say there are alot them out there. And one even has the Jeff Kent p*rn mustache going.
At least the "cowboys fan" was smart enough to have a hat and sunglasses picture taken, the others have nothing to hide behind... except a wireless router and a laptop.
I'm all for getting creeps off the streets, but setting up people and arresting them because they were theoretically about to break the law is some straight up Phillip K Dick BS.
He's a classic science fiction writer. Ever seen the movies Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Paycheck, etc? Those are all his stories.
Sex with children is pretty sick...but I think a good lawyer could get theses guys off (wait ...rephrase that). It could be argued that they were just playing out a fantasy up to a point , but never intending to go through with it. Maybe they were going to meet the young people and tell them just how dangerous their own actions are. Now, that's just lawyer talk but when we start arresting people for thinking about committing a crime we will all be in jail. You have thought about Lindsey Lohan haven't you? Well she's under age.
Well, they were arrested for "attempted" whatever. Maybe everyone is overlooking the holes in this case because these people are complete scumbags? Obviously they never could have completed an assault because the alleged victim doesn't exist. I can see that they probably thought that they were attempting something. You can't be guilty of assaulting someone who doesn't exist. Why is it possible to be guilty of attempting to assault someone who doesn't exist? This whole case bothers me.
Okay, based on their posts in this thread, it's DanHiggsBeard in the lower right, and it's GutterSnipe in the lower left panel.
This is a strategy law enforcement has used against sexual predators for several years now. If it was going to fail, it would have failed by now. These guys are screwed.
