A 55-year-old man who allegedly drove 70 miles for an illicit meeting with a young Independence Township teen is headed to trial.
Rodger Scott Stevens, an unemployed Bay City resident, was bound over to Circuit Court after a preliminary exam before 52-2 District Court Judge Joseph Fabrizio on Monday.
Investigators said Stevens was arrested April 9 in Independence Township after arriving at a predetermined location to engage in a sexual act with a person he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
The ‘boy? however, was actually an undercover Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Computer Crimes Unit detective.
‘Sadly’depending on how you look at it’it’s really easy for us to make these kinds of arrests,? said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who’s headed the OCSO since 1999 and often speaks at local schools about Internet safety. ‘Our (detectives) are extremely effective at what they do and how they do it; they’re quickly approached by predators, just by posing as a 14-year-old.?
According to police, Stevens approached the person he believed was a minor through a popular online social networking site, and immediately guided the dialogue toward sexual topics. Detectives seized one computer and found many adult pornographic magazines, DVDs, VHS tapes and sexual aids during a search of Stevens? residence in Bay City.
A second man was arrested April 13 in a separate but similar incident, and will face preliminary exam at 52-2 District Court on Thursday, April 23.
Police said Eric Quintin McGhee, an unemployed 22-year-old Detroit resident, also attempted to meet a 14-year-old boy for a sexual act in Independence Township after initiating contact online.
According to OCSO Undersheriff Mike McCabe, the Clarkston area is sometimes chosen by detectives as a ‘meeting spot? because of its convenient location to I-75.
Like the case with Stevens, the ‘boy? McGhee allegedly arranged to met was actually an undercover OCSO Computer Crimes Unit detective.
‘It’s very scary for parents, as it should be,? said Bouchard, noting studies indicate one in four children who use the Internet will be approached by an online predator’and boys are as likely a target as girls.
The OCSO’s four certified computer forensic examiners are charged with nabbing online predators, Bouchard explained, but it’s only part of the job; much of the detectives time is spent assisting other departments with computer forensics.
‘The arrests are easy and we make them as often as we can,? Bouchard said. ‘But we don’t have the resources to do Internet patrolling all the time.?
So when a slot of time opens up, the detectives go online and pose as a child or teenager’but never initiate contact with a potential predator.
‘We follow a very strict protocol,? Bouchard said, noting detectives do not engage in entrapment of online predators. ‘We cannot, nor would we, put the thought of a criminal act into a person’s mind. We let them cross that line. They’re already out seeking to violate a young person when they approach our detectives.?
Bouchard points to the OCSO’s success getting a significant number of offenders prosecuted.
‘We’ve never lost a case,? he said.
Both men arrested in Independence Township last week remain jailed
Stevens, who is on probation out of Bay County for an assault and battery charge, was bound over for trial with a $200,000 cash surety bond; McGhee awaits preliminary exam on $50,000 bond.
Both are charged with child sexually abusive activity, a 20-year felony; communicating with another to commit a crime, a 15-year felony; and using a computer to commit a crime, a 20-year felony.