September 6, 2007

Rice Unveils Results of Summer Predator Sting  

21 arrested for preying on children during summer months

MINEOLA – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced at a press conference Thursday morning the results of a summer sting targeting child sexual predators using the Internet to prey on Nassau County children. Since the beginning of the summer, Rice’s office has arrested 21 men for crimes ranging from Attempted Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors to Attempted Rape and Endangering the Welfare of a Minor.

Each of the defendants engaged in sexually explicit on-line conversations with undercover detectives posing as underage girls.  Six of the defendants showed up at “meets,” expecting to meet with the “underage girl” they were chatting with.  One man was charged with felony cocaine possession after posting on the Web site “craigslist.org” an offer to exchange cocaine for sex.

“Despite all the media attention these stings have generated, these men were more than willing to show up at our sting house and meet with someone they believed was an underage girl,” said Rice.  “Fortunately, they met detectives from my office and were arrested on the spot.”

Those arrested include a Town of Hempstead sanitation worker, a former TSA – Homeland Security employee, an insurance company investigator, an accountant, an attorney, and the former Deputy Treasurer for the Village of Southampton.

Eight undercover officers were used in this sting.  Additionally, two officers from the Nassau County Police Department’s First Precinct, served as “decoy” underage girls for photographic purposes and for utilization at the sting house.

Since taking office, Rice’s administration has refused to plea bargain with those arrested for preying on children.  During that time, her office has a 100% conviction rate in 17 cases.

“There isn’t an issue more important to me than protecting our children,” said Rice.  Rice said she will continue to educate parents when it comes to Internet safety.

Rice has assigned two full-time undercover detectives and two specially trained assistant district attorneys to handle these cases.  Since taking office and in addition to investigating and prosecuting these cases, the “Cyber Crime Unit” has delivered 22 presentations to neighborhood groups, schools and civic organizations requesting information on how to protect their community’s children on-line.

Rice thanked the United States Attorney’s Office – Eastern District, the Nassau County, Garden City and Rockville Centre Police Departments, and the New York State Police for their involvement in the sting.   Rice gave special thanks to the Nassau County Police Department’s Crimes Against Property (CAP) Squad for their hard work and dedication to these cases.

The cases are being handled by the District Attorney’s Cyber Crimes Unit, headed by Assistant District Attorney Stephen Treglia.

The charges against the defendants are accusations and they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.