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00:00The following program documents real law enforcement investigations of child sexual predators.
00:05This deeply disturbing content may be triggering for some viewers.
00:09Please watch with care.
00:12Next, Detective Tony Godwin tracks down one of the most dangerous predators he's ever
00:17encountered.
00:18If that doesn't scream, kidnapping, predator, I don't know what it does scream.
00:23You would have taken her to the hotel?
00:24Not anymore.
00:25I have a hard time believing that.
00:27I know you don't believe it, but I know my skills.
00:29Then, Tony teams up with the FBI to go on a manhunt for a predator who wants to have
00:35sex with a 10-year-old.
00:38What'd you send in between your face and body pic?
00:41Pics of sexual acts.
00:46And later, a cunning predator uses role play to hide his desire to meet up with a 14-year-old
00:53girl.
00:58A team of police professionals in North Dallas has one goal.
01:02Take down online predators before they harm a real child.
01:08Child predators are everywhere.
01:11Online predators pose the biggest danger to America's children today.
01:15Kids are being targeted at an alarming rate.
01:19This team is opening its case files for the first time to show you how it tracks them
01:24down.
01:26All right, he's coming this way.
01:28All right, he's coming this way.
01:28And brings them to justice by any means necessary.
01:32This is Detective Tony Godwin, and his team is the Predator Hunters.
01:42It's May 2022, and Tony is on the hunt for one of the most depraved predators he's ever
01:48come across.
01:50Thank God it's me he sent it to, and not a real 13-year-old kid.
01:55It's disturbing on every level imaginable.
01:59But when he attempts to arrest him, the predator throws Tony a curveball.
02:05The fact that we have to move from plan A to plan B, it elevates the risk level.
02:11And when it's time to face justice, he lays out his crimes in a letter to the victim's
02:16family.
02:17It's rare that I pull this card and play it.
02:20This is nothing but an evidence of slam dunk for the case.
02:25Juan Menchu.
02:27This guy looks like a normal guy in his 30s, but evil hides in plain sight sometimes.
02:33This dude sent a video of himself masturbating to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl
02:37while she was in school.
02:40Unbelievable.
02:42My two colleagues, Tavey Guthrie and Norman Gonzalez, they helped me take this guy down.
02:51On May 17th of 2022, I began an online undercover proactive investigation
02:57on an application called MoCospace.
03:01MoCospace is a social media platform.
03:03It allows users to share messages privately or in a group.
03:08So I started off by making a MoCospace profile.
03:11I set up the girl named Katie.
03:13She's 13 years old.
03:14I use a profile picture of one of my colleagues who's given me consent and permission to use
03:19pictures from when she was that age.
03:21I can't show that photo because it's part of other ongoing investigations right now,
03:26which could be compromised if I released it.
03:29I can't show that photo.
03:2913 is a specific age that I picked because in Texas, if you commit a crime online against a child
03:36that's under 14, it's an enhancement. It moves it from a third degree to a second degree felony,
03:41which just gives somebody more time in prison if convicted.
03:45Once I have the profile established, I get tons. I mean, probably close to 100 friend requests.
03:50I get instant messages coming to me. One of them kind of stood out. His name was Diablito,
03:57Little Devil, and that really caught my attention.
04:00You're so beautiful. It's a huge flag for me.
04:04I go to Diablito's profile to document that for evidence.
04:08It says he's a 31-year-old male from Austin, Texas.
04:11On initial thought, I'm thinking, oh, he looks like a normal dude.
04:14I wanted to ensure that he remembered I am a kid.
04:18I send him a message. Hey, I'm almost 14. Is that okay?
04:24And he replies back, it's okay with you. It's okay with me.
04:27We don't do anything bad. We just talk.
04:30The behavior itself is super shady.
04:33This guy clearly knows he's talking to a 13-year-old.
04:37He's clearly leaving up to his name, The Little Devil.
04:42He then says, how about you text me? And he gives me a phone number, like,
04:46boom, just like that. This is really predatory behavior.
04:54Diablito sends me a message.
04:56Good morning. It's me, Vin, or Diablito from MoCo.
04:59I've got a phone number. I've got a potential first name or a portion of a first name.
05:04Things are rolling really quickly, and I like it.
05:06I have my analyst, Tavey Guthrie, to help me dig in and figure out who this guy is.
05:11It's amazing that Tony's been able to get me this phone number as fast as he has.
05:15So now I've plugged this number into some of our databases, and it's given me a lot of information back.
05:21Tavey's research reveals Diablito's real name, Juan Vicente Menchu Akpacaja.
05:28So now we know Vin's full name and date of birth, 920 of 90.
05:32And we also found out that he lives about 180 miles outside of Dallas in Austin, Texas.
05:40He also does not have a vehicle registered to his name.
05:45I'm going to need to let Tony know about that.
05:51So over the next couple of weeks, Vin and I, we are texting back and forth a whole bunch,
05:55and his texts are getting more and more sexualized.
05:58He sends me this message. You just make me feel so horny right now.
06:03Huh? What?
06:08He said, I just imagine how I'm going to kiss your body and do it so slowly.
06:13What a romantic, huh?
06:15He asked me, where are you at right now? And I tell him I'm in class.
06:20Within seconds of telling him I'm in class, he sends me a video of himself masturbating.
06:27Thank God it's me he sent it to and not a real 13-year-old kid.
06:31I mean, it's disturbing on every level imaginable.
06:36I could pursue with an arrest warrant, but in order to get him across the line with a higher charge,
06:45I need him to arrange a meeting in person for a sexual relationship. And when that happens,
06:50I need to have a ton of my people behind me to get him in custody and arrest him.
07:00I mean, a little less than three weeks later, I get a message back from Menchu.
07:10And what happens next is he says, how about Monday?
07:16Soon as he gets here, I'm going to lock his butt up.
07:22Tony brings in Detective Norma Gonzalez for the takedown operation.
07:28It's always been a passion of mine since I was like five years old wanting to be in law enforcement.
07:32I feel the satisfaction of working those kind of cases. It's just the victims.
07:36They don't have a voice. They're the most defenseless victims that are out there.
07:41I'm usually part of Tony's takedown team.
07:44And he posts us in different streets around the apartment complex.
07:48Once the vehicle come in the apartment complex, we come in behind them.
07:52We don't know what he's driving, but we know what he looks like.
07:55So that's kind of what we're looking for.
07:57The person driving the vehicle, is this our offender coming into the apartment complex?
08:097.58 a.m. This is an investigation of online solicitation of a minor.
08:15Our scheduled meet has been set by the subject of this investigation, Juan, Vicente, Menchu.
08:24Biggest hurdle we have is Menchu does not have a vehicle registered in his name that we have found.
08:30And that presents really big issues for us.
08:33We are really like on a wing and a prayer.
08:37Everybody's looking. Everybody's calling out different vehicles.
08:40It's so chaotic. There's far more radio traffic.
08:44It's a lot to process.
08:46We're at a little bit of a disadvantage, but we have covert units all over.
08:52Close by are more than a dozen uniformed and plainclothes officers.
08:56But when he's minutes away, he shifts the goalpost.
09:00He just texted indicating he was 11 minutes away and for who he believes to be a 13-year-old
09:07female to meet him at the gas station next door to the apartments.
09:13It's a nightmare scenario. The fact that we have to move from Plan A to Plan B, it elevates the
09:20risk level.
09:21This predator is one slippery customer. He could go there. He could see someone, a child, that looks like Katie,
09:29which really presents a very huge problem.
09:31He could see the cops coming in to get set up for the potential meet with him. There's so many
09:36variables I have to think about and consider.
09:43Tony and his takedown team redeploy to a gas station to intercept child predator Juan Menchu.
09:51One problem, he won't tell them what car he's driving.
09:55How do we know where to put people? How do we know who to go approach? How do we know
09:59when to move in if we don't know what we're looking for?
10:03Menchu sends me this message.
10:06I ask him yet again, what color car?
10:16I'm flipping out at this point. I'm wondering, is this guy ever going to tell me what the hell kind
10:19of car he's in?
10:24Finally, he comes back and tells me he's in a white car. Why does it have to be so difficult?
10:29Now, knowing what the vehicle looks like gives us more an advantage. We sit in our vehicle, try not to
10:35be seen, and we just wait for them to give us the okay of, you know, hey, we have eyes
10:40on them, everybody moving.
10:41So right before me, as Katie, is about to walk across from the complex to this gas station, Menchu sends
10:49the creepiest message ever and says, I'll be at the gas pump, the door's unlocked.
10:58I need you to get in the back seat and cover up with a jacket or blanket that's in the
11:02back.
11:04If that doesn't scream, kidnapping, predator, I don't know what it does scream.
11:08The weirdest, bizarre request I've ever gotten from a predator, ever.
11:13I give the order to take him down.
11:21Fall down, fall down.
11:22What's up?
11:23Fall down, can't you?
11:24Fall down, fall down, fall down.
11:26Fall down, fall down, fall down.
11:27You got me a car?
11:28My boss hands me Menchu's cell phone.
11:31He had that in his hand when he got out.
11:33Even better.
11:34That phone is really important in this case because that's going to hold all the chats between
11:38he and Katie.
11:56When a motel key is found by the arresting officer, you could pretty much glean from that that his intentions
12:02the whole time was to take Katie back to a hotel to perform whatever sex acts he had envisioned.
12:14All right.
12:16We met out there at the scene for a moment.
12:18My name's Tony.
12:20I'll give you my card.
12:22Why do you think you're sitting here today?
12:25Let's just talk to this girl.
12:27She wants me to come over when you come over.
12:29What's her name?
12:30What's the girl's name?
12:31I forgot her name.
12:32Okay.
12:32Yeah, I forgot her name.
12:33But you don't remember her name?
12:34Um, no.
12:38Do you know how old she was?
12:39No.
12:40You sure?
12:41Yeah, I'm sure.
12:42I think she didn't, but I forgot her name.
12:43What if I told you she's 13?
12:46Okay.
12:47She's 13.
12:50Do you remember that?
12:52I think so.
12:53Yeah.
12:5314.
12:54I probably know more about this than you think I do because the way it was reported to us,
12:59like I've seen a lot of the conversations that you had.
13:03Did you send her any nude pictures?
13:05I don't think so.
13:05Did you ever send her a picture of your private?
13:09I don't think so.
13:10I've forgotten.
13:11You sure?
13:11Yeah, I'm sure.
13:12Okay.
13:15So, some of the communications that I saw, you talked about obviously having sex with her.
13:23Uh, yeah, but no, you know, like, I tell her, like, I'm nervous, I don't want to and everything.
13:28He told her you didn't want to?
13:29I want to, but I don't want to.
13:31Oh, you want to, but you don't want to?
13:32Yeah, yeah.
13:33That's what I tell her.
13:34I mean, like, I'm scared, you know?
13:36He acknowledges that, yes, he talked to this child about having sex.
13:40I did.
13:40Of course, I want to do it, but I'm nervous.
13:43I'm scared.
13:43Yeah, you're scared.
13:44If we hadn't have showed up and that girl would have gotten in the car, you would have taken her
13:48to the hotel?
13:49No, not anymore.
13:50Well, be honest now.
13:52I'm honest, no.
13:53I'm honest, I swear to God.
13:55I'm not.
13:56I have a hard time believing that, but you're telling me that wasn't going to happen today?
14:02No.
14:02If the police hadn't come in and she showed up?
14:04Yeah, it doesn't matter.
14:05Yeah, that's...
14:06I don't know, man.
14:07I have a hard time believing that.
14:08Yeah, I know you don't believe it, but I know myself.
14:12At the end of the day, I think he would have happily followed through with his promises
14:16had the cops not scooped him up.
14:18Now, I do something kind of unusual.
14:21If you could say something or write a letter to her parents to say anything, is that something you'd like
14:28to do?
14:28I wouldn't do it.
14:29You wouldn't do it?
14:30I wouldn't do it.
14:31You wouldn't do it?
14:32I mean, I can give you a paper and a pen and you can write something out if you want.
14:35It's rare that I pull this card and play it, but I do because of the way the interview was
14:41going.
14:42And his back and forth, you know, BS excuses for things.
14:48I am surprised that he agrees to do it.
14:51This is nothing but an evidence-based slam dunk for the case.
14:58In summary, this is what it says.
15:00Hello, my name is Juan.
15:02The reason for this letter is to apologize for inappropriate thoughts I have with children.
15:08I'm very happy that you guys are there to care for your daughter.
15:12I ask for your forgiveness to be here in this situation.
15:24After a forensic review of his device, we found no CSAM and no other communications with other children.
15:31I was really not pleased with the sentence.
15:34I felt like he deserved far more time.
15:37I have to sort of let it go and release it because I'm looking for the next guy to put
15:43in prison.
15:44January 2023, a predator tells an undercover FBI agent that he wants to have sex with the agent's daughter.
15:52The fact that he's interested in sex with a 10-year-old child catapults this guy to one of the
15:58highest risks possible.
16:00When Tony catches up with him,
16:06he pushes to get to the truth.
16:09How long have you had a sexual interest in children?
16:16Justin Peters, this case, this one really stuck with me.
16:19This guy said he regrets kind of going into these online forums.
16:23Yet, he was there to engage in a sex act with a 10-year-old.
16:27A 10-year-old.
16:29Thanks to the work of a special agent in Philadelphia who made a referral,
16:33Jen and I were able to track this guy down and stop him before he acted with a real kid.
16:44It's January 2023.
16:46This case begins when FBI special agent Jennifer Mulliken reaches out.
16:50Hi Tony.
16:51Superstar, how are you?
16:51I'm good.
16:54So this is a lead that was sent to me from an agent in Philadelphia.
16:58He was an undercover persona on Kik.
17:01Kik is a social media platform for mobile phones only,
17:05and it is littered with predatory types,
17:09not just in a chatting room,
17:11but in a child sex abuse material being openly shared and traded.
17:15So our undercover agent was a dad offering of his 10-year-old daughter.
17:19Oh, dirty dad.
17:21Offering of a child we know sounds shocking and sickening,
17:23but it does happen.
17:25That's a ploy we use, and when it works,
17:28it pays off with dividends.
17:34Tony and Jen analyzed the Kik conversation
17:37between an undercover FBI agent and a suspected child predator.
17:42This user is X-Punk Trash.
17:45Pretty sick one.
17:47Our undercover agent was a dad offering up his daughter,
17:50and X-Punk Trash jumped on it.
17:52In a room or a group or something?
17:54It was a group chat.
17:54Oh, okay.
17:55Then they transitioned to one-to-one chat.
17:57Oh, so that means it's going to be really, really horrible stuff.
18:01Files, I guess, were exchanged?
18:02Files were exchanged.
18:03The first group that they were in was Lolita Caesars,
18:06and then they transitioned.
18:07Oh, look at that hashtag.
18:09MapCP Kids.
18:10Man, I know where this is going.
18:12In the child exploitation world,
18:14MAP stands for Minor Attracted Person,
18:17and Lolita is representative of a little sexualized girl.
18:22They create these terms to avoid detection
18:25from not only the platform
18:27to also avoiding detection by law enforcement.
18:30So our undercover posts in the group chat,
18:33and then he's immediately contacted by Punk Trash.
18:35And they transition to one-on-one chat messaging with each other.
18:39So you have stuff with your daughter?
18:41That's pretty hot.
18:42Not gonna lie.
18:43Our undercover says, to clarify, I don't keep it.
18:46I let others bang while I film.
18:48Offering up a child we know sounds shocking and sickening.
18:51Yeah.
18:51But it does happen.
18:53Remember, this undercover officer is playing a role.
18:56It's a tactic that works to find predators.
18:59Trash Punk says, I'd love to see you or be involved.
19:02How young is she?
19:05And our undercover says, 10.
19:07How young is your daughter?
19:09I guess that's a pretty telling thing
19:11on what he's looking for or wanting to do.
19:14So what comes next is,
19:16if you're legit and near Philly, it's all good.
19:20And then that's when X-Punk lets him know that he's in Texas.
19:23I've got to get this guy identified.
19:27Tony scours the chat transcripts for clues
19:29that can reveal the identity of X-Punk Trash.
19:33The FBI agent, he asked Punk Trash to verify.
19:39Verification when you're in a group means
19:41you have to upload some sort of contraband
19:46to be validated as legit and not law enforcement
19:49before you're able to see and download
19:52additional content offered by other members.
19:55So the agent is expecting CSAM,
19:58but that's not what he gets.
19:59He sends a photo of himself thinking that'll verify.
20:03It kind of tells me, this is probably our real guy.
20:07As things stand right now,
20:08this guy really hasn't committed an offense yet.
20:12And so the agent needs to make sure
20:13that this guy is the predator
20:15that he thinks he probably is.
20:18And so he's like,
20:19I don't want to see a picture of your face.
20:21I want you to verify the usual way.
20:24Think of the group that you're in.
20:27Punk Trash sends four images
20:30of very, very graphic child sex abuse material.
20:34I mean, really young stuff, toddler age.
20:37Horrible.
20:38Under our penal code in Texas, that's a felony.
20:43What the agent does next is really smart.
20:46He asks Punk Trash if he's ever played in real life,
20:49which means, have you done a sexual offense
20:52with a real kid?
20:55And Punk Trash says he has.
20:58He's done something with a 14-year-old boy.
21:03That's the most crushing blow
21:05that could be given to me.
21:07Somebody had an opportunity to prevent that
21:10and failed to do so.
21:12And as a result, a real kid is victimized.
21:17The FBI agent, he sends a subpoena to Kik
21:20to get the subscriber information
21:21on the Punk Trash account.
21:23The Kik return comes back with an email address.
21:26I do an open-source search on the email address
21:29from the Kik return.
21:30And I discover a Discord page and a Spotify account.
21:35And both of those are under the name
21:36Justin Robert Peters.
21:38Now I've got a name tied to Punk Trash.
21:42I run that name through a police database.
21:45I come up with a physical address
21:47and driver's license photo.
21:49And that photo, compared to the uploaded selfie
21:52sent to the agent in Philadelphia,
21:54are a 100% match.
21:58In my mind, this guy is an immediate danger to children.
22:01And now I have an idea of where he lays his head at night.
22:105.30 a.m., Tony and his team
22:12prepare to raid the home of Justin Peters.
22:22They must be ready to react
22:24if the situation turns volatile.
22:34Police!
22:37Don't let your dog out!
22:38We never know what we're going to encounter
22:41on the opposite side of the door.
22:49It's definitely heart-stopping
22:51when you knock on the door
22:52and then you hear dogs barking.
22:56The door is set back several feet.
22:58And what we call that in law enforcement
23:00is the fatal funnel.
23:01Because if you're going to get engaged with gunfire,
23:04that's where it's going to happen.
23:05And so the object is to knock in an ounce
23:08and then get out of that fatal funnel.
23:12Oh, that sounds like a big dog.
23:16Detective Tony Godwin
23:18hunts for predator Justin Peters
23:20at his last known address.
23:23Police!
23:24Yep?
23:24Put the one outside.
23:25Where's your dog at?
23:26Oh, she's in the room.
23:27Okay.
23:28I just...
23:28I'm sorry.
23:29I'm sorry.
23:29Is anybody else in the apartment?
23:31No, no, no.
23:31I'm sorry.
23:33Justin's mom comes to the door
23:34and talks to us.
23:36We're not trying to give problems to his mom
23:39because she has nothing to do with this.
23:40But why would you...
23:42Because we have a search warrant for your residence.
23:44For what?
23:44For your son.
23:45Where is he?
23:46My son?
23:48My son's not here.
23:50Where's Justin?
23:52I need to know that he's not going to get tipped off,
23:54that the cops just went through his door,
23:56and so time is of the essence for me.
24:02Listen, what's going on?
24:03I have a search warrant for your apartment.
24:05Right, right.
24:05I know that, but for my son.
24:07But what did he do?
24:08Well, I'm going to talk to you about that,
24:10but we need to have a conversation first.
24:12You just said my son,
24:13I thought you were going to tell me he's dead.
24:14Oh, no, no, no, no.
24:15So, what?
24:16I'm okay.
24:17It's child-related.
24:18That's why we're here.
24:19Oh, my God.
24:21Yeah, that's why we're here.
24:23I'm so scared, still.
24:25I agree.
24:27Justin's mom doesn't know her son's whereabouts.
24:31Tony's team shifts gears to trace him another way.
24:35I get word back that Justin is in East Dallas.
24:39I put a part of my team on finding Justin,
24:42and they tell me, like, hey, we found the location.
24:45He's not here, but he's told his friends
24:47that he walked to a job interview.
24:49He's inside of this local business,
24:52and he's filling out an application for employment.
24:54So, I tell him, hold the front door.
24:56We're on our way.
25:02Hey, we're about to turn the house for you now.
25:04I thought they said he's walking.
25:05I thought he walked here to get a job.
25:08As we're driving to the location,
25:11Tony and I are developing a game plan.
25:14I thought he said he was on the wall.
25:16Yeah, he's in a waiting room right now,
25:17but I'm at the front door.
25:20We just got a busted on him.
25:21We'll get through it.
25:24We're trying to get there as fast as we can
25:26because we don't want the offender to look outside
25:28and see that there's a cop in the parking lot.
25:30That'd be the lightning.
25:37Because you're ready for this to be done.
25:39We're ready to get our hands on our target.
26:00When I tell him he's under arrest and he asked me what he did,
26:03I so badly want to just tell him you're a pedophile.
26:08I got you.
26:09You wanted to go have sex with a child in Pennsylvania.
26:11But I can't do that.
26:13He's oblivious at this point.
26:14He doesn't have a clue.
26:19Time to play nicey-nice with this guy, right?
26:21Yeah.
26:22Kind of soft-soap him a little bit,
26:23see if he's going to open up and talk.
26:31I need this guy to tell me exactly what he did
26:34and what he intended to do.
26:35I'm not going to give up until he does so.
26:38And if I've got to get mean and hard with him, I will.
26:41Well, you had a particular conversation with someone in another state.
26:45Remember that?
26:47Pennsylvania?
26:49Yeah, I do.
26:50What do you remember about that?
26:53I remember talking for a little while, but...
26:56About?
26:58Do things with the kid, and I was in a dark place,
27:01so I kind of fell into it, and I had shown interest in it,
27:08but then I had gotten after a little while of talking to them,
27:13and I felt weird, and I got off the app.
27:17In one realm, he's trying to seek out words
27:22that do not make him sound like a pedophile
27:24when that's what he is.
27:26And the other side of him is,
27:28he's so shell-shocked that I know about this information,
27:31he can't even formulate a thought.
27:34How long have you had a sexual interest in kids?
27:38Not...
27:39No.
27:40Look at me.
27:40Not...
27:41Look at me.
27:41Okay.
27:42How long have you had a sexual interest in children?
27:47Look at me.
27:48How long?
27:49Maybe within the last year or so,
27:51it's really started to...
27:54Right.
27:55That didn't hurt, right?
27:57We're just...
27:58I know, I'm sorry, I'm scared.
28:00You don't have to be scared.
28:01We're not here to hurt you.
28:02We're not here to help you.
28:03I'm just...
28:04I've never...
28:05It's just...
28:06So you had a sexual interest in children
28:08for maybe a year.
28:10What got you there?
28:14I just wanted to get help,
28:15but I didn't...
28:16Well, getting help isn't going into a chat group
28:18saying you don't have sex with a 10-year-old child.
28:20No, no, no, I know, but that's not...
28:21That's not getting help.
28:22No, I know.
28:23That's...
28:24That's acting out on your thought process.
28:29I think the problem is I wanted to seek out help,
28:33but I didn't know how to go about that
28:34because I don't want to be viewed as like...
28:36Well, here we are.
28:37Yeah, I know.
28:38Here we are.
28:40He's trying to come up with these excuses.
28:43This guy's an absolute pervert.
28:45He's in a chat room trying to make arrangements
28:46to have sex with a 10-year-old kid.
28:48He's absolutely not looking for help.
28:50He's looking for like-minded individuals.
28:59Peter's case is very disturbing,
29:01but one takeaway parents have
29:03is that online predators have a tendency to use code words
29:06or little emojis to represent certain things.
29:09Something simple like a slice of pizza
29:11is a representation for child pornography.
29:14The term cheese pizza is also another code word
29:17for child pornography.
29:18Educate yourself and your kids
29:21because things may not be as innocent as they appear.
29:25Yeah, 10-4, he is backing into a spot
29:27right by the mailboxes right now.
29:29Detective Tony Godwin is hunting a predator
29:31who is advertising online for a daughter.
29:35He's looking right by directions.
29:37He calls it role play, but it's pure depravity.
29:42And now...
29:43Go, go, go.
29:44He's about to face the full force of Tony's takedown team.
29:52There's a small group of predators
29:54that are highly sophisticated and polished,
29:57like this guy, Christopher Williams.
29:59He presented as a model citizen.
30:01We have to prioritize these types for investigations,
30:04especially when we find out they have access to children.
30:16On August 18th of 2011,
30:19I'm online proactively
30:21seeking out the most deviant people
30:24that are out there looking for children.
30:29I'm on the market site Craigslist.
30:32I go into the personal section called casual encounters.
30:34I know that this is where predatory types hang out,
30:38looking for kids.
30:39One particular ad grabs my attention.
30:41This posting makes reference to role play, daddy-daughter.
30:46But as you continue through the ad,
30:49and he mentions under 20 moves to the top of the line,
30:52indicates to me that he really has a propensity for kids,
30:56but he's not able to articulate that in his ad
30:59because that ad would get flagged and tossed out.
31:03He could be looking to target someone who's underage,
31:06and he will probably land on a real kid
31:08if I don't do something to intervene.
31:10I'm using my 14-year-old persona, Brittany,
31:13who's from the Dallas area.
31:15I have used this profile
31:16and arrested tons and tons of predatory types.
31:21I respond, hey, I'm 14.
31:23Is that cool?
31:25Only 20 minutes later,
31:26I get a reply from a guy named C.W.
31:29Yeah, your age is cool
31:30as long as you know how to be discreet.
31:33The fact that he wants me to be discreet
31:35right from the jump
31:36tells me that he is very, very aware
31:39of what he's doing is illegal and wrong.
31:42So it's game on.
31:43I'm now in pursuit of a real predator.
31:49Detective Tony Godwin is working overtime
31:51to reel in a child predator
31:53with the username C.W.
31:57So I start to engage with C.W. as Brittany,
32:00kind of talking in teen speak.
32:02He replies within minutes.
32:05That's cool.
32:06Are you looking to just chat and talk,
32:08or are you actually looking to meet
32:10and get some experience?
32:12He jumps right into how he has a role-play fantasy
32:15and that a young girl would fit perfectly
32:18into that scenario.
32:19His role-play suggestion is simply an excuse.
32:23He's actually looking to have
32:24a sexual relationship with a child.
32:27I really want to catch this guy.
32:33The next morning,
32:34he's messaging me through the app.
32:36Hi there.
32:37I'm turned on that you're so young
32:39and wanting to explore.
32:40Chris.
32:43So for the first time,
32:44he signed off with a real name, Chris.
32:47Now I'm really excited
32:48because it's one more piece of the puzzle
32:49that I have,
32:50and hopefully we'll be able
32:51to get him identified soon enough.
32:54Over the next three days,
32:56Chris and Tony exchanged dozens of messages.
32:58We're communicating back and forth
33:01like an exhaustive amount.
33:03The reality is,
33:04he's telling this to what he believes
33:06to be a child.
33:11He knows this is a crime.
33:13I have absolutely no doubt in my mind
33:16that Chris is an absolute child predator.
33:19I mean, I'm locked in at this point.
33:20I want to take this guy down.
33:24Now he wants to know what I look like.
33:28That's really a door that opens up for me
33:30an opportunity to gather additional evidence
33:32because I'm going to ask him to reciprocate
33:34and also send me photos of himself.
33:37The next thing you know,
33:38he sends me four different images of himself.
33:41And what I have is a bald, middle-aged,
33:44white male with a pretty significant goatee.
33:49I know your name.
33:50I know what you look like.
33:52Now I'm coming after you.
33:54I send two photos of what is being purported as Brittany.
33:57I do have the availability to do that
33:59through one of my coworkers.
34:00So she's provided me with plenty of photographs to use
34:03from when she was 14.
34:05And he replies,
34:07Oh, wow, Brittany, you're super cute.
34:09You look a little older, almost 15.
34:13What?
34:14Thank you, sir.
34:16He knows I'm underage.
34:17Thank you for that admission, Chris.
34:19I appreciate you admitting to a crime
34:21online solicitation of a minor.
34:23But then Chris tells me something that really alarms me.
34:27He has a daughter and she's nine years old.
34:31Immediately, I know I need to escalate things
34:33because he has access to a child.
34:35I really need to figure out who he is
34:37and get him in custody.
34:41So I decide I'm going to push the envelope
34:43just a little bit
34:46and I ask him if he wants to text me.
34:48If I have his phone number,
34:49I can exploit that
34:50and get all the intelligence I need about who he is.
34:54He's nice enough to say,
34:56yeah, absolutely.
34:58Now I have a cell phone number,
35:00perfect information that I can use.
35:01I'm going to pass this over to Detective Castile,
35:04let him dig in and figure out who the guy is.
35:08Tony brings me a cell phone number
35:10and he asks me to run it to the police database.
35:13Getting a cell phone number is a good piece of the puzzle.
35:15We can generally develop a suspect
35:17with a cell phone number.
35:19I get a hit on Christopher Lance Williams
35:21of Dallas, Texas.
35:23I find out that he works in dental technology.
35:26I locate the driver's license of Christopher Lance Williams
35:29and I pull up the photograph
35:31and that photograph matches the pictures
35:34that had been sent to Tony.
35:36I'm feeling great.
35:37This is a positive identification.
35:42So the next day,
35:43Christopher Williams asks
35:44if Brittany's available to meet in person
35:48and then suggests,
35:49hey, we can watch porn.
35:51You can practice on me.
35:53He's now indicated we're going to meet in person.
35:56We're going to perform these sex acts.
35:58He's just committed this crime for me.
36:00I can issue a warrant for his arrest
36:01and pick him up.
36:05Whenever Tony calls me,
36:07we get excited.
36:08We like taking these guys down.
36:09We like taking them off the street.
36:11I set up surveillances on his home address
36:16and I set up surveillances on his work address.
36:20It's a big step in our case.
36:22We'll actually even watch them at their house
36:24and actually follow them
36:26into their takedown location.
36:28So we're on for a takedown tomorrow.
36:37Detective Mark Castile waits for child predator
36:40Christopher Williams to show up.
36:42Detective Godwin has been in contact
36:45with this subject we believe here,
36:48Christopher Williams.
36:51Williams has made arrangements
36:52to come meet Detective Godwin,
36:55who he believes is a minor,
36:58to come here to have sex with her.
36:59We do not know his vehicle for sure.
37:01He has said it was a red Ford pickup,
37:04I believe,
37:05and hopefully he'll be showing up here
37:08very shortly.
37:09I generally instruct the surveillance units
37:12on what's going on
37:13and Tony will generally give the takedown signal.
37:16So I position myself at the complex
37:19where I have a good visual
37:20of where Williams is going to park.
37:23I get a message from Williams
37:25who tells me he's just leaving work.
37:31My surveillance team tells me
37:32they watched him leave the house
37:33in a red Ford pickup.
37:35He's on his way.
37:39Now is the nerve-wracking part.
37:42Let's see if he follows through
37:43with his promise.
37:49Okay, we should be seeing
37:50a red Ford pickup.
37:53Sorry, yeah, there it is.
37:59Yeah, 10-4,
38:04he is backing into a spot
38:06right by the mailboxes right next.
38:09Also leaves the engine running.
38:11And that's concerning
38:12because that,
38:12he might try to pull out fast
38:14and cause a pursuit.
38:16I have to really bide my time
38:18and wait until the absolute critical moment
38:22to give the takedown order.
38:25Yeah, I put my camera down for the moment
38:27because he's looking right in my direction
38:28so I'm going to do the takedown.
38:31Everybody get ready.
38:33Let's go, go, go.
38:34Very slow, very slow.
38:36Remember, he's in the running vehicle
38:38and it is backed in
38:39so he's got easy access to get out.
38:41Let's go, go, go.
38:42Let's go, go.
38:42Let's go, go, go.
38:50Let's go, go.
38:51Let's go.
38:53Let's go, go.
39:11Williams just gives up.
39:13He throws his hands up in the air.
39:14He knows immediately he is caught and bought and paid for.
39:18He doesn't give any resistance.
39:20Pull him out.
39:21They handcuff him.
39:23Okay, subject's in custody.
39:28And we'll be signing over and off for now.
39:33Three minutes ago, this dude thought that he had as much game as he could.
39:37He decided to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.
39:40Now he's in custody.
39:41He's in the back of a squad car.
39:42He's about to be going to jail.
39:45Awesome.
39:50Williams is arrested and transported to the jail.
39:55Williams tells me that he does have child sex abuse material on both a cell phone and a laptop.
40:03In that conversation, he admits that he did initiate the communications with Brittany.
40:08And he also indicated that had no police been involved, he probably would have followed through with his intentions of
40:15having a sex act with her.
40:24After forensics were done on his devices, it was learned that Williams had engaged in communications and sent nude images
40:32with a real 14-year-old girl.
40:36I was able to track down this 14-year-old victim.
40:39I did interview her and she did confirm that Williams asked her to produce nude child sex abuse material of
40:45herself and provide it to him.
40:49As I suspected, Williams was operating in the real world with real miners, which really highlights the importance of taking
40:58a guy like this off the street.
41:07Christopher Lance Williams was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
41:10He looked normal.
41:12He acted normal.
41:13Works in the dental industry.
41:16He's using his status to earn the trust of a vulnerable kid.
41:21I tell parents to let their kids know that it doesn't matter how much someone earns, what sort of job
41:26they have.
41:27They can still be a sexual predator.
41:29And educate the child to tell a parent or trusted adult that the behavior of someone they've encountered online doesn't
41:36feel right.
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