Potential predators in Petaluma

It happens every time at least once during our undercover operation, two guys showing up almost at the same time.

While 26-year-old Vaikunth Soundarajan, a software engineer, is in the backyard—another man is heading towards our house.  I’ll have to time my interview with Vaikunth just right, so the men won’t run into each other.

Decoy (hidden camera footage): Hey, I’m made some frozen lemonade.  Sit down.  I’m—gonna go get in my swimsuit, is that okay?

Soundarajan: Sure.

Decoy: Yeah.  Okay.  Pour me a drink. 

Online he calls himself ‘mannbay2004.’  He makes a date for sex with a girl he believes to be thirteen. He says “I will go till u tell me to stop. The decoy says ‘If I do not stop you how far would you go?’ And mannbay2004 says ‘all the way.’” Remember this man has no idea he’s being recorded by hidden cameras.

Decoy: So, what do you want to do?

Soundarajan: Let’s see how it goes.

Decoy: Okay.  So you’re playing hard to get, huh?

Soundarajan: Uh-huh (affirms).

Decoy: (laughs)

Chris Hansen (walks out): Now let’s see how this goes.  What’d you bring? 

Soundarajan: It’s a condom.

Hansen: Condoms.

Soundarajan: Yeah.

Hansen: And—

Soundarajan: And lubricant.

Hansen: Lubricant.

Soundarajan: I’m sorry.  Can I ask you something first?

Hansen: Sure.

Soundarajan: Am I gonna be like in trouble?

Hansen: Well, that’s not up to me.

Soundarajan: Oh, sh*t sh*t. I knew this.  Still I came.

Hansen: If you knew this, why did you come?

Soundarajan: I don’t know why really. I fought with myself.  Still I don’t know why I came.

Hansen: Well, you have condoms and lubricant there.

Soundarajan: I know.  But that’s for the first thing I asked is ‘Are you a virgin.’  She said ‘no.’

Hansen: Doesn’t change the fact that she said that she was 13.  And you brought gear for sex.

Soundarajan: Yeah.  True.

Hansen: So here’s the other thing.  Here you are, 26 years old.  Talking to a 13-year-old.  Saying you gotta be careful.  Why?  ‘There are a lot of sexual predators out there.'

Soundarajan: Am I one?

Hansen: Are you?  You know, it’s against the law.

Soundarajan: Oh.

Hansen: Oh?

Soundarajan: Yeah, yeah.  No, no.  I mean, it’s bad.

It’s time to wrap up this interview and make room for our next visitor.

Hansen: Well, there’s something I gotta tell you.  I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. 

Soundarajan: Sh*t Sh*t please cover my face.

We ask ‘manbay2004’ to go in the house and out the front door so this next man can come in through the garage. As our new arrival makes his way into the backyard police arrest manbay2004 in the front.

The police are so quiet that this 33-year-old has no idea what’s going on.  His name is Fernando Bernal. He does computer support at a college. He’s here to meet a girl who told him she was 13.

Decoy: Hey! Oh, you brought me something.

Fernando Bernal: Yeah.  (laughs)

Decoy: Yeah.  How are you?

Bernal:  Fine.  And you?

Decoy: Good.  Come on back.  And you can set it down on the bar.  You can—

Bernal: Okay.

Online he calls himself “a_latino_man559” six minutes after making contact with a decoy playing a 13-year-old he says he’s bored and horny.  And proceeds to go into graphic detail about what he wants to do to her sexually.  He even turns on his Webcam and sends her live pictures of his genitals. Just before he signs off he tells the girl, “I’ll be the best sex you will ever have.”

Decoy: What did you bring me?

Bernal: Brought you a hamburger.  (laughs)

Decoy: I love hamburgers.   Did you bring the condoms?

Bernal: Yeah.

Decoy: Oh, cool.  Cool.  So what do you want to do?

Bernal: Whatever you want to do.  (laughs)

Hansen: Good, good.  How are you? 

Bernal: My name’s—

Hansen (walks out): Why don’t you have a seat right over there on the other side, please.  What’d you bring?

Bernal: Oh, it’s just some stuff.

Hansen: Some hamburgers.  Please, sit down.

Bernal: Uh-huh (affirms).

Hansen: Would you like a drink?

Bernal: No.  that’s okay.  I’m really sorry, sir.

Hansen: Sorry for what?

Bernal: For—for being here. 

Hansen: I saw you brought your bag.  Were you planning on spending the night?

Bernal: Well, I brought some stuff.  Because it’s a long drive.  So if you’re gonna stay, whatever.  Get a hotel... or stay the night.

Hansen: Or stay right here at the house.

Bernal: Well, the—that’s an option.

Hansen: Now how old are you?

Bernal: I’m 33.

Hansen: 33.  And this girl you met online here, she told you she was how old?

Bernal: She was 13, I believe.

Hansen: 13.  Alright, so 20 years younger than you are.   Why prey on somebody who says they’re 13?

Bernal: I didn’t.  I didn’t, sir.  I was—I was—I don’t—

Hansen: You talked to girl who said she was 13.  You bought all the stuff.  And you came over—

Hansen: Did you bring condoms?

Bernal: Yeah.  They’re—yeah.  But, you know.

Hansen: Yeah.  You just said that a moment ago, so, no reason to lie about it.  How far did you travel today?

Bernal: Three—its like three hours.

Hansen: Three hours? You must have been hoping for something really special to drive that far on a Saturday afternoon.

Bernal: Well, it—it—I needed to get out of town too so I figure just go out of town.  See what happens,

Hansen: So you sent her pornographic images.  These images of you.  Your genitals.  To a 13-year-old girl.

Bernal:  I never meant any harm.

Hansen: But you would have had sex with this girl if the opportunity arose.

Bernal: No.  I probably I wouldn’t.  I was thinking on the way here I’d maybe—I just needed to talk, you know.

Hansen: Well, you were talking online here.

Bernal: Yeah.

Hansen: You tell her that you’ll teach her various sex acts.

Bernal: You.  I’m—I’m sorry

Hansen: Why would you risk so much for this  one-time encounter? I don’t  understand it.

Bernal: I—I don’t even understand it myself so.

Hansen: Do you ever watch Dateline NBC?  Does this all seem a little familiar to you?

Bernal: Yeah.

Hansen: I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC.  And we’re doing a story on adults who try to meet teens online. 

Bernal: Is this going to be aired?

He’s reluctant to leave, concerned about appearing on national television.

Bernal:  I’m a good person.  If you guys don’t believe it. I really do believe God is going to help me through this.

What he doesn’t seem to know as he walks out of the backyard is that around the corner he has an even bigger problem than his appearance on television.  The officers are back in place ready to arrest him.

After he’s brought to the booking station and photographed, he continues to tell his story to the police and admits he has a problem.

Bernal:  I do have an issue with porn and sex, basically.

Police: “Porn and sex?  Basically.” You seem very obsessed with wanting to teach her.

Bernal: Yeah.  I—c—

Police: Is there something about that?  Is that part of your issue?

Bernal: It could—yeah, it could part of my issue—

But he insists that he probably would not have had sex with a 13-year -old.

And there are still more suspects running into each other. You’ll meet one potential predator who drives by our house, parks outside and then spots another man walking up the driveway.

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