What happened to potential predators?

Miles from any major city, down long country roads, past corn fields and cow pastures, Dateline set up this house in Rural Ohio. 

But that didn’t stop the parade of men from traveling hours to get to us.

After driving 104 miles, one man appears anxious as he fumbles with his zipper.

And one man, a training manager, drove 112 miles. It was past two in the morning. 

Since Perverted-Justice members are the decoys, some have been temporarily deputized.  We hired the organization as consultants so we could watch them do what they normally do—go into chat rooms and pose as 12 to 15 year olds home alone and interested in having sex. 

In Ohio, we hired a 19-year-old actress to play the role of a young teen home alone.

Using his Web cam, James Rutherford puts on a show for our decoy.  He thinks she’s 13.  

Now he’s pulling into our driveway in his Red corvette.

Decoy (hidden camera footage):  I’ll be right back. Just sit at the bar and I’ll be right there.

James Rutherford: Come here.

Decoy: No I promise I’ll be right back.

Rutherford: No come here.

Decoy: I’ll be right there. Just wait you gotta be a little patient.

Hansen: Actually I want you to come here.

Rutherford: That’s what I thought.

Rutherford says he had a feeling this was a setup, but he admits he was fooled into believing he was talking to a young teen.

Rutherford: I know she’s a kid.

Hansen: How old?

Rutherford: 13, 14

Hansen: 13, and how old are you?

Rutherford: Too old for a 13 or 14 year old.

Hansen: Too old.

Just like all the men who come through our door in Ohio, the teacher is arrested and transported to the county jail, where he is photographed, fingerprinted, strip searched and thrown in jail. He calls his employer from jail and resigned his position soon after…

Rutherford said that when he goes online he doesn’t specifically look for underage teens— but since our broadcast, we learned Rutherford was chatting with someone else in addition to Perverted-Justice.

Unbeknownst to the teacher, he was on line with a Carmel, Indiana police officer posing as a 13-year-old.  At times, Rutherford activated his Web cam and performed sex acts.  After seeing our story, the officer was able to identify him.  He faces eight new felony counts of child solicitation. 

Still, the parade continued...

One man who arrived was a budget analyst for the military.

Decoy: I gotta finish getting changed okay?

Kevin Westerbeck: Huh?

Decoy: I gotta finish getting changed okay?

Westerbeck: I’ll watch you.

47-year-old Kevin Westerbeck is expecting a 13-year-old virgin.  Instead he meets me.

Hansen: Hey how are you.

Westerbeck: Fine how you doing.

Hansen: Why don’t you do me a favor and have a seat right over on that stool please?

Westerbeck: Yeah.

Westerbeck like so many others claims he was just coming to talk—and he also brings up a subject we heard quite often in Ohio: religion.

Hansen: What makes you so religious?

Westerbeck: Because I have a faith in God.

Hansen: Didn’t your faith in God suggest to you that you shouldn’t come over here and hang out with a 13 year old girl after a sexually charged conversation on the Internet?

Westerbeck: That’s why I turned around the first time and then she called me. I thought well, I’ll just go over there and say hi and be done with it and go on home.

But, this is not the first time Westerbeck’s been caught setting up a meeting with a young girl on the Web.

Hansen: You pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor for sex.

Westerbeck: It was a plea.

Hansen: You pleaded guilty.

Westerbeck: Correct.

Hansen: And you got sentenced for that plea correct.

Westerbeck: That’s correct.

Hansen: 11 months.

Westerbeck: Correct.

Four days later he’s back in court and a judge rules on his status as a sex offender.

Judge: The court will make a finding that you are a sexual predator.

But it doesn’t end there.  Unbelievably, we learn even more about Westerbeck’s criminal past: rape of a little girl—part of his extended family. 

Sgt. David Adkins of the New Lebanon, Ohio police department took the report a year and a half ago. 

Sgt. David Adkins: It was late at night.  There was a thunderstorm.  She was scared of the storm, so she went to his room because she wanted the comfort of an adult.  And ultimately, he pretty much violated that trust and confidence that he had.

Last month Westerbeck pleaded guilty to raping a child under the age of 13. He was sentenced to ten years in prison.

During our three day investigation— 17 men came to this house to meet a young teen home alone and 17 were arrested, including a 21-year-old paramedic who has a thing for feet, and a family man who online made plans to take the virginity of a 15-year-old.

All 17 men have been charged with attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.  All pleaded not guilty, except Alonzo Wade, who plead no contest. He was found guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

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