MARTIN COUNTY — Six people were arrested following a Martin County Sheriff’s Office underage sex sting during which Chris Hansen, of “To Catch a Predator” fame was present.
The operation occurred over three days ending May 7 at a home in Stuart that was “wired for sight and sound,” Sheriff John Budensiek said May 8.
Budensiek, standing with Hansen, Capt. Gavin Werner and Sgt. Erin Spencer, said a number of people posed as juveniles under age 14 online on a variety of different platforms.
Budensiek was blunt in explaining the alleged situation.
“These individuals not only had sexually explicit conversations online, but they actually came to the house in order to have sex with … what they believed to be a 14-year-old child while their parents were presumably at work,” he said.
Two others are out of state and investigators will work to secure arrests in those cases, Budensiek said.
Hansen said he connected with Budensiek as Budensiek appeared on Hansen’s podcast to talk about a case in which two girls reportedly were kidnapped by a man they met on Roblox, described on its website as “an immersive gaming and creation platform that offers people millions of ways to be together, inviting its community to explore, create, and share endless unique experiences.”
Hansen achieved fame decades ago with “To Catch a Predator” on Dateline NBC, which involved targeting men who reportedly arrived at a location intending to engage in inappropriate relations with juveniles after online communications. He also has a series called “Takedown with Chris Hansen.”
Those arrested range from 19 to 36, with addresses in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Palm Beach counties. Two are undocumented immigrants, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Budensiek said one man showed up with a handgun in his waistband.
“He chatted with what he believed was a 14-year-old,” Budensiek said. “He went to that 14-year-old’s house while her parents were presumably gone to have sex with her, and he was carrying a firearm when he came into that residence.”
Another person “was furious that our undercover who he saw at the front door looked as old as she did.”
“He was not happy that she didn’t look younger,” Budensiek said. “She wasn’t the 14-year-old that he was hoping to meet up with.”
Budensiek said the summer months are starting and many youths will be at home alone.
“Can you imagine as a parent — I am a parent — these perverts coming in your house while you’re at work taking advantage of your child?” he said.
He challenged parents to be aware of their children, know what’s going on with them and who they communicate with online.
Hansen said he embedded with investigators to showcase their work and collaborate on a sting operation.
He said when they started in earlier years they used chatrooms on AOL, Yahoo and the once widely popular MySpace.
“Today there’s been an explosion of platforms and sites where adults can approach children,” Hansen said. “We recently did a documentary on Roblox and predators exploiting kids there. It’s shocking. It continues.”
Hansen said he spoke with one of the defendants, who he said tried to convince him he was a good Samaritan and didn’t want the 14-year-old girl to go down the wrong path and be available for inappropriate activities.
“He had worked on this excuse and honed it to the point where he thought he was going to get away with it, even called his father during the interview,” Hansen said.
Hansen said he talked to the father via cell phone.
“That’s the collateral damage that breaks my heart in these cases, you know, this poor father’s now got to figure out how to handle this, and the kid’s in jail, 19 years old,” he said.
Hansen recommended parents sit down with children when they first have exposure to the internet.
“You have to say, look, there are adults on the internet who like to try to trick children,” he said.
He said if a child makes a mistake on online they should be able to approach their parents, and then go to a law enforcement agency.
“But don’t think it’s the end of the world, and they got to know that they can come to you if they have a problem or an issue,” Hansen said.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Underage sex sting nabs six in Florida; Chris Hansen on scene
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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