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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.
00:11Who's headed toward the exit?
00:13I'm freaking out.
00:14This could blow the whole case.
00:16Next, Detective Tony Godwin teams up with the FBI to capture a predator who wants a
00:21mother to offer up her child.
00:24Let them move in.
00:25Roger.
00:28I have absolutely zero doubt probably would have had sex with that kid as planned.
00:33Then, the team goes after a registered sex offender who brazenly hunts for victims on social media.
00:39Is that your penis covered up?
00:41Yeah.
00:42But his darkest secrets are buried in his DMs.
00:45Any inappropriate photos?
00:46There have been a few, yes.
00:49And Tony executes a pre-dawn raid to expose an online pedophile ring.
00:54Police department!
00:55Those who are watchers may not all be doers.
00:58But those who are doers all started out as being watchers.
01:03A team of police professionals in North Dallas has one goal.
01:08Take down online predators before they harm a real child.
01:14Child predators are everywhere.
01:17Online predators pose the biggest danger to America's children today.
01:21Kids are being targeted at an alarming rate.
01:25This team is opening its case files for the first time to show you how it tracks them down.
01:32All right, he's coming this way.
01:33And brings them to justice.
01:35By any means necessary.
01:38Candle card.
01:40This is Detective Tony Godwin and his team is the Predator Hunters.
01:482018, Tony joins forces with the FBI to hunt down one of the most depraved offenders he's ever faced.
01:56I believe I know what he's looking for.
01:58A woman who has access to a child.
02:00Together, they set the bait to draw the Predator into the open.
02:05Let's move in.
02:06Roger that.
02:06And when he's caught, he's desperate to escape the truth.
02:10Communications show that you wanted to have sex with that 10-year-old child.
02:14No.
02:18Sometimes to catch a monster, you have to think like a monster.
02:22The Predator's name in this case is Keith Merchant.
02:26To snag this guy, an undercover FBI agent had to act as the most vile person you could ever imagine,
02:32so our team could get him off the street.
02:42It's not always me that initiates cases.
02:44In this case, I got a call from Jen Mullican, special agent with FBI Dallas.
02:49She works on the Child Exploitation Unit.
02:52As a fed, she needs the help of the locals.
02:54And as a local, I need the help of the feds.
02:57I work Crimes Against Children as it pertains to the Internet.
03:00That includes matters such as child pornography, online enticement, kidnapping matters.
03:06Nothing beats putting an offender behind bars for several years and getting justice for a child.
03:12But I do go to some of the dark places on the Internet.
03:19Special Agent Mullican begins a proactive investigation on Craigslist.
03:24Child predators sometimes lurk in the personals of this well-known classified ads website.
03:31Immediately, I see something that captures my attention.
03:34Taboo family fun.
03:35When I see the word taboo, I know from experiences that's a word that sexual offenders have used when they're
03:40looking for children.
03:41The content of the message says, looking for someone interested in the subject.
03:46I'm sure you ladies are out there.
03:48He's being slightly cryptic, but I believe I know what he's looking for.
03:51A woman who has access to a child.
03:56I create a profile, Dallas Little Miss One, and she's a mother that's offering up her 10-year-old child
04:02for sex.
04:09Jen puts herself out there in what we call a bad mom role, where she is an adult offering up
04:15her own child for sexual acts.
04:17It's a thought that most people can't even wrap their mind around, but it exists.
04:22It's out there.
04:23It's far more common than anybody would imagine.
04:27These particular offenders want to talk with you 24-7.
04:31When you're working as a mother offering up her child, you take that work home with you and you can
04:37be online with them all night long.
04:41I immediately want to find out if this individual has access to a child.
04:48So I respond with, very nice.
04:51You active now.
04:52In the child exploitative world, the term active is somebody that actually has access to a child and is currently
05:00engaging in sexual acts with that child.
05:04He comes back with, I'm looking for some.
05:07Well, that tells me that he's not actively offending against a child, but that he wants to.
05:15I let him know that I am looking for somebody to educate my little girl.
05:20In the language these people use, educate means to teach my daughter about sexual activity.
05:27Once he learned that I want to educate my baby girl, he asked her age.
05:32And I explained to him that she's 10 years old.
05:35I am sickened by this, but the end game is the important aspect of it, knowing that you're going to
05:40put an offender in jail.
05:42His response to me was, I can come up there in a few weeks.
05:47So he confirms to me, he is a sexual predator that is interested in raping a child.
05:56This blew me away. This guy is off the chain in depravity.
06:01He's looking to exploit a child in a completely different way because he's looking for an actual kid through a
06:07parent or someone who has access to a real child willing to offer that child up.
06:11It's an area I don't even want to touch. I've done it a few times, but Jen is the go
06:15-to person.
06:18Two days into the Craigslist conversation, the predator suggests that he and Jen continue their exchange on Kik.
06:25Kik is an anonymous chat app. The predator believes that it will keep him off the radar of law enforcement.
06:31So I transferred to Kik and I created an account. DallasLittleMiss1.
06:45The predator's Kik username is Merchandise6.
06:51He's starting to express more interest in my child by asking specific details about her.
06:56I tell him that she's into swimming and soccer.
07:01He then offers to bring her a gift, lingerie.
07:06Any adult male who offers to bring lingerie to a 10-year-old child is twisted like you would not
07:12believe.
07:16So he and I are going back and forth chatting, but then he throws an issue in my way.
07:23In my investigations, I don't freely share pictures.
07:27They're hard to come by, but I use this as an opportunity to request a picture from him.
07:33If he's smart, he's not going to send a picture to me, but they're not very smart all the time.
07:41Lo and behold, he does send a picture.
07:43So this is a big result for the investigation.
07:47And at this point, I decide to ask him,
07:49are you comfortable sharing your first name?
07:52Mine is Haley.
07:54And then I add, your new girlfriend is Cece.
07:59Once I get his name, I'm ecstatic, because this is a step closer to arresting a bad offender.
08:06Now, I have him in my sights.
08:13So Jen comes to me with the name Keith.
08:16That's great information, but it doesn't get us very far.
08:19So what I do now is I send a subpoena to Kik.
08:22I have the username for that account.
08:24Two days later, Kik gets back to me with an email address.
08:28Now we can get him identified.
08:29And so when we run him through some database checks, we get the Holy Grail.
08:35We get a positive ID on the name Keith Lee Merchant.
08:40It's fantastic for the case.
08:42We strike gold.
08:43This guy's already a registered sex offender.
08:46In 2004, he was convicted for indecency with a child by contact.
08:50And he did six years of an eight-year sentence at that time.
08:55Indecency with a child by sexual contact means that Merchant actually put his hands on a real child.
09:01That really ups the ante and makes us want to move with some urgency.
09:09Special Agent Mullican keeps Keith Merchant talking.
09:13Their conversation stretches into a second week.
09:16And then Merchant makes his move.
09:19On March 8th of 2018, he suggests a meeting.
09:24That's him crossing the legal threshold.
09:26And we can go ahead and prepare for the takedown.
09:36We're awaiting the arrival of this subject, Keith Lee Merchant, for the purposes of him having deviant sexual relations with
09:43a ten-year-old female child.
09:46The takedown location is an apartment complex.
09:49Tony and his team wait out of sight, ready to swoop in.
09:54So this particular takedown is going to happen at a location that I'm very familiar with, as is my team.
09:59It's a one-way-in, one-way-out kind of a place.
10:01We can control everything.
10:03So the game plan is Jen and I are in my truck, and we are kind of hidden inside the
10:07complex.
10:08I also have uniformed officers in marked patrol cars, but they're kind of hidden so that they can't be seen.
10:14I don't want the suspect to see cops, and then he'll get spooked to take off.
10:24I get a notification from my covert guy on the outside who says, hey, he's pulled into the complex.
10:31Yeah, it looks like him.
10:32Yeah, it looks like he's wearing glasses.
10:40The guy parks, and then he immediately backs out.
10:44And all of a sudden, it's like, oh my god, what's happened? Has he seen us? Has he spotted a
10:48cop?
10:49Let's head a door to the exit.
10:52I don't see him anymore.
10:57I just want you to see the truck pull out.
11:00Yeah, it looks like him.
11:03Predator Keith Merchant thinks he's meeting a mother who's willing to give up her child for sex.
11:10Tony watches the Predator park at the takedown location, but then Merchant starts to move.
11:16He goes all the way around to the other side of the complex.
11:18It's really a tense moment because you never know what's going to happen.
11:23He's headed toward the exit. Just be advised that I don't see him anymore.
11:27Man, my anxiety is super high. I'm freaking out. This could blow the whole case.
11:43And that luck is on our side.
11:50I give the command to execute.
11:52It's game time.
11:54Let's move in.
11:55Roger that.
11:59And we pounce on him like white on rice.
12:02We're getting him out now. Come on.
12:06Get your hands up.
12:13Hold on.
12:14What's your name, fella?
12:16Keith Merchant.
12:19Anything in the vehicle I need to know about?
12:21No.
12:27The window's down.
12:30In the passenger seat, we observed an overnight bag and some lingerie that he had discussed he wanted the child
12:37to wear during their encounter.
12:42But just so you know, you are speaking to an agent with the Dallas office of the FBI.
12:47Okay.
12:48Do you have any idea why we're here today?
12:52Well, probably got a pretty good idea.
12:55Well, I had been chatting with a lady and supposedly her daughter or whatever for a while.
13:00She approached me about wanting to do some stuff with her daughter.
13:04After about a week, I kind of started to lose interest.
13:06I kind of wasn't really into it.
13:08But I was like, I continued to talk to her.
13:11Today, you know, I had a free day or whatever and went and got her some stuff for Easter.
13:16And I was like, well, hey, you know, I'd like to, you know, maybe come up here, meet you and
13:20your daughter, give her some stuff for Easter, shabby off a while and leave.
13:24He is such a liar.
13:25I think he forgets that we have his cell phone and that that's what's going to tell us the truth
13:30of everything.
13:31But after about a week, like I said, that's when it turned into like, I was like, I don't want
13:36to do this stuff anymore.
13:37But I say that, I said that to myself.
13:39Did you ever express a desire or interest to do anything sexual with that kid?
13:46I, she had asked me about it.
13:48And like I said, I was kind of hum-hawing around the idea about it.
13:52Well, let me stop you right there.
13:53Yeah.
13:54She has given us access to her phone and there wasn't him in the phone at all.
14:01Yeah.
14:02What's in the truck?
14:03What'd you bring?
14:05I brought her stuffed animal and skittles.
14:08What kind of stuffed animal?
14:09It was like a lumbar or something like that.
14:11Anything else you brought?
14:13Well, there was some lingerie, but I don't understand.
14:17But it was actually my girlfriend's lingerie from yesterday's.
14:20He's like, oh, wait, they do know about this.
14:22Oh, and he knows there's chat about lingerie.
14:25So let me give you some story about my girlfriend and all this kind of stuff.
14:29What a bunch of garbage.
14:32So you're telling us or trying to tell us that that lingerie has nothing to do with the lingerie you
14:38talked about bringing.
14:38No, it doesn't.
14:39Because that lingerie is used.
14:41He's starting to get nervous because he's understanding the evidence that we're finding in his vehicle.
14:45And if we contact your girlfriend and show her the lingerie, will she say that's her lingerie?
14:50I suppose so, yeah.
14:52Well, I mean, is she going to say it's her lingerie or not?
14:56No.
14:58So you just told us?
14:59No.
15:00No.
15:01I actually got it for her and I just never got around to giving it to her.
15:04So why is it used?
15:08This is what happens when suspects start lying.
15:10They can't keep track of the lies and they start tying themselves in knots.
15:14And they get all confused about what they've said and where they're going with their story.
15:18I know for a fact the other party in this on more than one occasion said, you know what?
15:25Just forget it.
15:26Don't come.
15:27Don't do this.
15:28Don't do that.
15:29If you don't want, don't.
15:30I saw lots of that.
15:31Oh, yeah.
15:32But all I saw from you was, no, I'm still coming.
15:36I have absolutely zero doubt.
15:39You probably would have spent the night and you probably would have had sex with that kid as planned.
15:43No.
15:43I have no doubt that that's what would have happened.
15:45No, sir.
15:46I don't normally want to let it get under my skin like that, but this guy just pushed every button
15:50I had.
15:51Keith, do you see what's going to happen here?
15:55What's going to happen here is this doesn't just stop here.
15:58Yeah.
15:59You've already admitted to us that you were communicating with this woman with a 10-year-old child.
16:04Yes.
16:04And the communications show that you wanted to have sex with that 10-year-old child.
16:10I'm so relieved that this is done.
16:12I don't have to chat with this individual anymore.
16:14I don't have to talk to him about disgusting things anymore.
16:17I'll be able to go home tonight and finally get a night's rest.
16:26He won't be out until he's in his 70s.
16:28It's good to know that Keith Merchant is not going to be able to hurt a kid.
16:32He will offend again if he ever got the opportunity because of Jen's hard work.
16:36He's never going to get that.
16:38April 2019, Detective Tony Godwin sits face to face with one of the most shameless predators he's ever encountered.
16:46A man who treats his crimes like a joke.
16:49Any inappropriate photos?
16:52There's been a few, yes.
16:54Are you kidding?
16:56But as Tony lays out the truth, the smile fades.
17:00It's not funny anymore.
17:02Is that your penis covered up?
17:04Yeah.
17:05Twitter wasn't happy about that one picture, I think.
17:09My team and I, we went through a bunch of twists and turns to get this guy, Eric Grzywinski, into
17:14custody.
17:15We thought it was bad what was publicly available, but what we found out in his private life, the real
17:20deviance, was shocking.
17:32April 11th of 2019, I received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing Exploited Children.
17:39NECMEC is what we call that, and they're the clearinghouse here in the U.S. for online-related complaints that
17:45involve potential predators.
17:47So this member of the public reported directly to NECMEC, and they said,
17:51This is a pedophile that is sexual with teenagers on Twitter.
17:54He's also soliciting nudes and distributing child pornography.
17:58Please investigate this and count immediately.
18:01I got a really good starter kit going.
18:03I got a picture of this guy.
18:05I got a Twitter handle.
18:06I look at this profile, and the username is Eric.
18:11Eric's username is blurred out to protect innocent social media users with similar handles.
18:19Another interesting thing is this guy's bio, which is right underneath his photograph on his profile.
18:24It says,
18:25Single with no kids.
18:26I'm very open-minded about everything and anything.
18:30I love to sext.
18:33This guy is an absolute weirdo, right?
18:36He puts all this out in open, in the public.
18:39It's all publicly available.
18:40It makes me very concerned that he's looking for kids.
18:48Detective Godwin needs access to the Predator's private Twitter messages.
18:53He calls in digital analyst Tavey Guthrie.
18:56Tony comes to me with a request to make a submission to Twitter for everything that we can get back
19:02on a Twitter handle of Eric.
19:05So this is a huge task because Twitter is such a huge organization.
19:10This is definitely not something we're going to get back quickly.
19:13So I submit the subpoena, and all we can do now is wait.
19:20Twitter releases Eric's data to Tony's team.
19:23Their report contains nearly 1,500 private messages, and the case takes a dark turn.
19:31Okay, so look at this, what he's saying here.
19:35You're extremely beautiful.
19:36Do you like older guys?
19:39Wow, look at this one here.
19:40You're beautiful at 14.
19:42I really love younger girls.
19:44God, what a sick pig.
19:46I bet you look extremely stunning in a bikini.
19:49Age and distance doesn't bother me.
19:52This is like four examples of him talking to four different kids.
19:57He clearly knows how old these kids are.
20:00There's no doubt in my mind this guy is a predator.
20:04Okay, so along with the messages that I got back on the Twitter return,
20:07they've also given me a whole bunch of IP addresses where he's logged in using the account.
20:12Got some that give me some locations kind of around the city just generally.
20:17And then I've got another IP address that comes up several times to a very specific location here at the
20:24Kingsley Inn and Suites.
20:31Detective Tony Godwin is hunting a child predator known only as Eric.
20:36His best lead is a local motel.
20:39So I head over to the Kingsley Inn.
20:41I let them know that I have this ongoing investigation, that I work crimes against children, and some information has
20:47led me to them.
20:49And I'm trying to make an inquiry about a specific date and time range that I know that IP address
20:54showed up on Eric's account.
20:56And based on that information, the person there at the Kingsley Inn is able to tell me that lines up
21:03with one of their long-term residents, Eric Grzywinski.
21:07The minute the clerk shows me the driver's license photo they have a copy of,
21:12I see immediately that matches the profile for Eric.
21:19He's had some serious history, including aggravated sexual assault of a child.
21:25He's a lifetime registered sex offender.
21:28Big, huge red flag.
21:30My priority right now is to get an arrest warrant for Mr. Grzywinski and get him into custody.
21:35And at that point, I put together an arrest team.
21:45Tony discovers that Grzywinski is working with a maintenance crew on the outskirts of Dallas.
21:51His arrest could turn dangerous, fast.
21:54You know, the guy's already been convicted once and he's a registered sex offender.
21:58He could turn violent at the drop of a hat.
22:01Takedowns are really stressful days.
22:04You never really know if they're going to go right or they're going to go wrong.
22:07I give it to the best people I have on my takedown team because this is what they do all
22:11day, every day.
22:14Tony sends two squad cars to arrest Grzywinski.
22:18The plan is to approach him when he's isolated from the rest of his work crew.
22:23The element of surprise is always our best advantage.
22:26I mean, he's not going to know what hit him.
22:30Go, go, go.
22:35All right.
22:36Hey, man.
22:37James, back on your back, man.
22:39Explain everything here in one second, all right?
22:42Hang time in one second, man.
22:43Wait over there for me.
22:48Give me a set of them in your car.
22:49Yeah.
22:51Yeah, no needles, knives, weapons, anything like that on you?
22:53Uh, I got a small pocket knife.
22:55Okay, that's all you guys are bugging off?
22:57No needles or anything?
22:57No, they're in that pocket to my back of battery for my cell phone and a Bluetooth.
23:04Where's your pocket knife?
23:06Uh, I think I got brought it.
23:09It's sealed right now.
23:11I mean, I didn't bring it.
23:13That's the pocket I normally put it in.
23:15He was actually really kind of friendly with the guys.
23:18I just don't think it's registering in his brain at this point what it's about.
23:26I'm grateful that the guy's happy and relaxed and chill, but I'm also expecting it could change on a dime.
23:35Gotta get a little bit of basic information from you first, sir.
23:39Okay.
23:40E-R-I-C-K or?
23:42E-R-I-C.
23:43Yes.
23:44I know there's like a million different ways.
23:46Do you have a middle name here?
23:47No.
23:48I don't know if it's a mouthful, but how do you say it?
23:52Grizzlinski.
23:52This dude is like in super chill mode.
23:55It's something unique, you know.
23:58Dude, you're right.
23:59It is unique.
24:01Wow.
24:02Yeah, he kind of acts like we're at a bar drinking a beer or something.
24:06Like we're just a couple of friends talking.
24:08And I'm fine with him thinking that we're going to get along and do this well,
24:11because I just want him to open up and tell me everything.
24:15Man, you have a lot of crazy stuff on your page, dude.
24:18Like a lot of age-difficult, borderline stuff.
24:23Like what?
24:24Yeah, that was at the time when I wasn't working and I was, you know,
24:28I was just trying to keep my mind busy, but I guess I just chose the wrong path.
24:33He blames his pedophilia on boredom?
24:36Give me a break.
24:37That is nothing but an excuse.
24:39That's you?
24:40Right.
24:40Is that your penis covered up?
24:42Yeah.
24:42At one time, this was your public Twitter profile.
24:46At one time, yes.
24:47This is a small portion of conversations you had on Twitter.
24:54Hey, Princess.
24:56I hope you're single.
24:57Yeah.
24:57You're extremely beautiful for a 14-year-old girl.
24:59I really love younger girls.
25:02You remember that?
25:03Wow.
25:04So this guy had a visceral reaction.
25:06He does a, oh, like he's shocked by the words that he wrote.
25:13What a joke.
25:14But, she's telling you she's 15 and you're continuing this conversation.
25:19Yeah.
25:19So that's, that's a little problematic.
25:21Okay?
25:22He finally admits that this is a problem.
25:24He agrees with me.
25:25But he's not really taking it very seriously.
25:27This guy's treating it like it's a freaking speeding ticket.
25:33Detective Tony Godwin interviews child predator Eric Grzywinski.
25:38Has anything been going on recently?
25:41There's just been one, this one person I've been talking to.
25:44Guy?
25:45Girl?
25:45Girl.
25:46Okay.
25:47Okay.
25:47I can't remember her last name.
25:49Okay.
25:50How do you think she is?
25:55I believe 17.
25:57She just recently turned 17.
25:59Local or do you know from where?
26:01Uh, Alabama, I believe.
26:03Oh, geez.
26:04Did you send to her?
26:06It's been a while.
26:08But you did?
26:09I have, yes.
26:10Swapping photos or anything?
26:12At first we did, but she was sending me a picture to either like the sky or her dog
26:17or her cat.
26:19Okay.
26:19Any inappropriate photos?
26:22There's been a few, yes.
26:24So what he's basically just admitted to is soliciting child pornography by having that
26:28child produce something that's illegal.
26:31You know, the fact he tries to dismiss this, well, the child is 17, that doesn't make any
26:36difference.
26:37In terms of child pornography, production, transportation, distribution, all of those are for kids under
26:45the age of 18, and so that's a federal crime.
26:48Other than that, you want to head out?
26:50Hello.
26:51At this point, I'm sick of talking to this guy.
26:56The child in Alabama, I'm going to refer to her as Olivia, but that's not her real name.
27:01My priority now is to figure out who Olivia is, how old Olivia is, and just how long this
27:07has been going on.
27:08This is a real live victim, and I've got to find her.
27:13Tony's team analyzes the text conversations between Grzewinski and several underage girls.
27:19They look for clues that could identify which one of them is Olivia.
27:24I found a conversation that started in June of 2019.
27:27There are very explicit sexual images.
27:30So I do a Facebook search, and I come up with a bunch of results.
27:36Tavey compares the Facebook profiles of girls who could be Olivia with the photos recovered
27:41from Grzewinski's phone.
27:43So I'm scrolling, and eventually, I get lucky enough to find an image that matches what I've
27:49seen in these chats.
27:52It's the same girl.
27:56Tavey gets back to me with the child's profile, and within a few minutes, I'm able to get
28:00a hold of her parents.
28:04The mother tells me that Olivia is intellectually disabled, and her mental capacity is around
28:10an eight- or nine-year-old.
28:12Not only is Grzewinski talking to a child, he's talking to one who's extremely vulnerable
28:16because of her challenges.
28:18Even more proof that this guy's absolutely sick and needed to go to jail.
28:24I see and hear a lot of things in this job.
28:27Some things don't even shock me anymore, but this really blew me away.
28:38July 2019, Tony's team raids a property linked to sharing child sexual abuse material.
28:47The biggest piece of evidence I need to find is the device that uploaded those files.
28:53That's the crux of this investigation.
28:56When Tony comes face to face with his target, he seizes an opportunity to infiltrate a network
29:02of predators.
29:04You're over a barrel right now.
29:06You have charges pending.
29:08I want to assume your online identity.
29:11Whatever it takes in order to get to the next guy.
29:17Carlos Tamez, this guy we call the download deviant.
29:20Why?
29:21Because he downloaded so much child sexual abuse material from the internet.
29:25We have to move fast on him.
29:27We can't run the risk that he's going to delete stuff and get rid of evidence.
29:30So I have to plan a pre-dawn raid, which brings in a whole host of problems and issues that
29:35we have to deal with.
29:37Guys like this, we have to act with urgency.
29:39He's just one step away from doing something with a real kid.
29:47In 2017, I get two cyber tips from NECMEC concerning an IP address that downloaded three CSAM files.
29:55NECMEC stands for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
29:59It alerts law enforcement to potential online crimes that involve minors.
30:05In July of 2019, I get a total of nine cyber tips from NECMEC concerning this same IP address.
30:13And the scary part is there was 145 CSAM files that were uploaded into a Google folder.
30:19The problematic thing is this.
30:22Those who are watchers may not all be doers.
30:25But those who are doers all started out as being a watcher.
30:29Here's the other problem.
30:31It's super simple as this escalation shows that they could slip into real world.
30:36They could do something hands-on with a real kid and it's on our watch.
30:40It's important that we move on this now.
30:45The cyber tip provides us a name of the account holder and his name is Carlos Tamez.
30:51So based on the information I have, I do some searches through law enforcement databases.
30:56As a result, I'm able to find a driver's license for this guy.
31:01What I see is a Hispanic male about 30 years old.
31:05I'm closing in on the predator.
31:12Detective Tony Godwin plots how we can capture both Carlos Tamez and the phone Tamez used to share child sexual
31:20abuse material.
31:21The biggest piece of evidence I need to find is the device that uploaded those files.
31:27That's the crux of this investigation.
31:30If I go to Tamez's house and arrest him, will the device be there?
31:34Or has he been sharing the material using a different device at another location?
31:39Tony had list digital analyst Tavey Guthrie to pinpoint a location where he can find both Carlos Tamez and his
31:47phone.
31:49So on this particular cyber tip, we see a wide range of IP addresses.
31:54And this is letting us know that he's moving around using his cell phone, showing us all these different locations.
32:00But I did notice that there was one IP address that showed up multiple times.
32:05I discovered that those belong to a T-Mobile account.
32:09So I subpoena that account through T-Mobile.
32:12The subpoena return identifies the residents in North Dallas.
32:16It's Tony's best lead to find Tamez and his phone at the same location.
32:22The subscriber named on the T-Mobile account is Jackie J.
32:26At this point, I need to figure out who's Jackie J.
32:29What's the relationship with Carlos Tamez?
32:32My default is to go back to the Tamez driver's license.
32:36It shows an emergency contact, Jackie.
32:38So what that tells me is either he's in a relationship with Jackie or she's some sort of family member
32:44and they potentially live together.
32:47I get an arrest warrant and a search warrant for Carlos Tamez and his residents.
32:52The goal is to do a pre-Dong raid.
32:54Worst case scenario, he's not there, but other people are, is that they now tip him off that the cops
33:00are here.
33:00All my evidence is gone, probably gets chunked in a lake.
33:03There's so many variables that can make this go wrong.
33:06So we've got to time this perfectly.
33:23There's an element of danger that does exist, but at the end of the day, this is the job we
33:29do.
33:29Some guys got long guns. We got pistols.
33:32Texas is really strong gun state.
33:34A lot of people own guns.
33:35Safety is our first priority.
33:48Police.
33:57Police.
33:58When you're out of time and you've got to get yourself into a property, the slammer is absolutely what you
34:04need.
34:05You have to be really close when you're going to barrel up and hit that door or using it to
34:10bust the lock on the door.
34:12Oh yeah, it's heavy.
34:13Police.
34:18Police.
34:22Police.
34:24Police department.
34:27Who are you?
34:30Who all is here?
34:32Just me and my daughter.
34:33Just you and your daughter?
34:34Yeah.
34:35Just me and your daughter.
34:36We got a warrant.
34:38We'll take you in just a minute, just the two of you guys here.
34:41Step right back here, just a minute.
34:51I see this bleary eyed woman who's just been thrust out of bed.
34:55I'm assuming this is Jackie J, the same lady that T-Mobile said is a subscriber and who pays the
35:01bill and who I believe is the partner of Carlos Tamez.
35:04And I ask her what her name is and she tells me her name is Carol.
35:08How long have you been living here?
35:09I've just been here a few weeks before I stayed here so I don't have to come.
35:14Where's Carlos?
35:15They're at their wall tunnel.
35:17Did they go back to Dallas?
35:29A later investigation finds no evidence that Carlos Tamez abused Carol's daughter.
35:36She explains to me that Tamez and Jackie J broke up and moved out and she's only been there for
35:42a couple of weeks.
35:44They broke up but they're living together with someone's mom.
35:52I'm like totally bummed.
35:54I've got to figure out where he is, track him down.
35:57I mean there's so many things that are running through my mind.
36:02Tony's operation is in jeopardy after a pre-dawn raid finds no trace of the predator.
36:11When she tells me they've moved out recently, what a huge letdown that is.
36:17It's frustrating, it makes me angry.
36:20But then I get a massive break.
36:24I'm able to find a phone number for Jackie and I call her direct.
36:29Jackie has no knowledge of Tamez's crime.
36:33Jackie reaches out to Tamez and tells him he needs to come to the apartment.
36:4020 minutes pass.
36:43No sign of Tamez.
36:47It's getting a little bit anxious.
36:49It's a little bit on edge at this point.
36:57But then Tamez arrives on the property.
37:00This is Christmas in July.
37:03This never happens.
37:04Usually I'm in the wind looking for this guy for months.
37:08My uniform guys hand me his cell phone.
37:11I'm able to turn that over to my forensic guy to make some determination of what exactly is on that
37:16device.
37:17The analysis takes 60 minutes.
37:20Tony's forensic specialist reveals the results of the scan.
37:24My forensic guy tells me he found two video files of children being sexually abused.
37:29And both of those children appear to be under the age of six.
37:46I place him under arrest at this point.
37:49And he's transported to the detention center.
37:56When we spoke out at the scene, we went through your Miranda warning, correct?
38:03You had mentioned something about Kik.
38:05Yes.
38:06But you said you got booted from Kik probably as a result of those communications.
38:13Was that a single person on Kik or was that a group Kik?
38:17It was a group.
38:18Do you remember the name of the group?
38:20Uh, cheese pizza.
38:22Cheese pizza is a rip on the initials CP, which stands for child pornography.
38:28A kind of an unwritten code to avoid detection.
38:31Do you remember how long ago it was you were in there?
38:35It's been years.
38:37I mean, are we talking like two years or longer or?
38:40Five years.
38:41Now I want to know what level of involvement does Tamez have?
38:45Is he just storing the material that he gets from that group?
38:48Or is he transporting that material?
38:51Meaning is he getting material and giving it to other users?
38:54I always want to find the person that is producing this material or possessing larger amounts of this material.
39:01Where someone typically goes after becoming a collector is usually some sort of trader.
39:08Meaning I'm in a group, kind of like cheese pizza, and there becomes this exchange of some sort.
39:14And the way you talked about it, it sounds like a little bit of that has happened with you.
39:21I see this as an opportunity for me to infiltrate this group.
39:24I want to assume your online identity, whatever it takes, in order to get to the next guy.
39:31To the guy that's doing something worse.
39:33If I can find a guy that's actually taking images or videos of kids, or actually doing these assaults on
39:39kids,
39:40well that's a much bigger fish, and someone who really needs to be dealt with accordingly.
39:48Do you agree or disagree with that?
39:49I agree.
39:51I am very willing to go to a prosecutor or go to a judge or testify in court to say,
39:58you know what, Carlos was very honest with me, he was very open, he was very sincere,
40:03and I could genuinely see that this guy had some remorse.
40:07And he provided me this information.
40:09If that wins you some favor somewhere at some point, I'm perfectly fine with that.
40:16There's definitely an element of his mindset that it could help him.
40:20If he cooperates, it does lead to a bigger fish.
40:23Maybe it gains him some favor in the court or the judge.
40:26I have no doubt that that's something he's cognizant and aware of.
40:31So I'm able to join the kick group that Tamez was a member of, posing as Tamez.
40:36And now I've got this opportunity to potentially get a bigger fish.
40:41There's always risk.
40:42He's very low level in this group.
40:44A new guy's now running the show.
40:46He has no idea who Carlos Tamez was or is.
40:50And that's what happened in this case.
40:52And I'm not able to arrest the higher-ups within that food chain.
40:56But I gather really valuable intel.
41:04The Tamez case highlights that Predators will use all sorts of platforms, like Kik,
41:09because they have some anonymity with this.
41:12And they also will be sharing child sex abuse material with anyone.
41:16Parents, make sure you're educating your kids not to download anything that's in a link
41:20or a folder or a file that they don't know anything about.
41:23A message to you Predators.
41:25You may think that you're anonymous, that you can't be found.
41:28But everything you do online leaves a trace.
41:31And know this, I will follow that trace.
41:34I will find you and I will lock you up.
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