Prominent men caught in Petaluma sting

More men keep coming to our undercover house. 23-year-old Juan Carlos Gutierrez is a used car salesman.  He’s a little late for his date with a girl who told him she was thirteen.

Decoy: Oh hey!  You made it.

Carlos Gutierrez: Yeah, how you doin’?

Decoy: Good.  How are you?  Hey, take a seat. Pour me a glass.

Online he calls himself “elchiva8395020” and he wastes no time getting to the point. Within minutes he asks the decoy posing as a 13-year-old virgin if he can come over.  And then asks “So its ok that I wont to (blank) you hard?”  Then he sends a photo album: 12 pictures of his genitals.

Decoy: I’m gonna go change my bathing suit, ‘cause I wanna get in the hot tub later maybe.  So just pour me a glass.  Take a seat.

Gutierrez: Are you sure?

Decoy: Yeah, I’ll be just out in a minute.

Gutierrez:  Can I see you?

Decoy: I’ll be out in a minute.

Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent, walks out: You can see me.

Gutierrez: Oh hi.

Hansen: Hi, how are you?  Why don’t have a seat right over there?

Gutierrez: No problem.

Hansen: What are you up to?

Gutierrez: Nothing.  Just coming to see how she looks.

He’s another man who says he’s not certain of the girl’s age.

Hansen: You take a look and show me where it says, 14, 15.

Gutierrez: 13.

Hansen: Thirteen, there we go.

Gutierrez: Yeah, there we go.

Hansen: Yeah, yeah.  Your memory’s better now.

Gutierrez: Yeah.

He may have temporarily forgotten how old she said she was, but he does remember the photo album he sent?

Hansen: Now do you remember sending all this stuff to her?

Gutierrez: Yes, I do.

Hansen: Yeah, yeah.

Gutierrez: Yes, that was me.

Hansen: All right. That was you.

Gutierrez: Yes.

Hansen: And why did you think that was a good idea, a smart thing to do?

Gutierrez: Actually, I don’t know.  I didn’t have no idea.

Then he lies about his own age. As we mentioned earlier he’s 23.

Gutierrez: I’m 18, to be honest.

Hansen: You’re 18?  That’s not what you said online.

Gutierrez: I probably said 23, right.

Hansen: You did.

Gutierrez: No, I’m 18.

Hansen: Yeah.  And why would you say 23 there and tell me 18?

Gutierrez: I thought they like older guys, I don’t know.

Hansen: Can I see your driver’s license?

Gutierrez: I actually don’t have one.

He says his friend Ramon dropped him off.

Hansen: And where’s Ramon now?

Gutierrez: He said he was gonna go to The Round Table.

Hansen: The Round Table.

Gutierrez: Yes.

That’s his story—his friend drove the car and then headed off to a local restaurant.  But he doesn’t realize how much we already know.

Hansen: Now what kinda car do you have?

Gutierrez: Well, I have a ‘96 Honda Prelude.

Hansen: Okay, and you didn’t drive that car here and park it down the street?

Gutierrez: N-okay, yes, I did.

Hansen: Oh you did?

Gutierrez: Yes.

Hansen: Okay.  And so you really do have a driver’s license now?

Gutierrez: No, I don’t.  It’s suspended.

Hansen: It’s suspended?

Gutierrez: Yes.

Hansen: I see.

Gutierrez: Yeah, yeah.

Hansen: Okay.  So you just drove over here anyway even though you have a suspended license?

Gutierrez: No, I just—was curious how she looked and—

Hansen: And what were you gonna do with the girl?

Gutierrez: Actually, I was kinda nervous.  I was just gonna talk to her.

But the pornographic photos he sent and his obscene chat log make it hard to believe he was just coming here to talk.

Hansen:  “But it’s okay with you that I love having sex?  It’s okay that I want to blank you hard?”

Gutierrez: Yes, that’s right.

Hansen: “You wanna see my blank?”

Gutierrez: Right.

Hansen: “You wanna see how it looks?”

Gutierrez: That’s right.

Hansen: You don’t think you would have tried to have sex with her?

Gutierrez: No—well, I don’t know honestly.

Hansen: Do you see a problem with what you’re doing here tonight?

Gutierrez: Yes, I do.

Hansen: And what’s the problem, Carlos?

Gutierrez: She’s underage.

Hansen: She’s underage.

Gutierrez: Yes, definitely.

Hansen: It looks like you came here to take advantage of this girl.

Gutierrez: Yeah, that’s the way it looks.  Yes.  Yes.  It definitely looks that way.

Hansen: Well what should happen to you?

Gutierrez: I’m banished from Internet. (laughs)

Hansen: Banished from the Internet?

Gutierrez: Yeah, well—

Hansen: Do you have a little problem, being addicted to the Internet?

Gutierrez: Actually, yes.

Hansen: Yes?

Gutierrez: Yes. I just love talking, I don’t know.

Hansen: Love talking?

Gutierrez: Yes.

Hansen: Well you love talking here, that’s for sure.

Gutierrez: Yes, that’s right.  Yeah.  That’s my problem.

Hansen: —I gotta tell you somethin’, because I am Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC and—

Gutierrez: Okay.

Hansen: We’re doing a story on adults meeting teens online for sex.

Gutierrez: Okay, cool.

Hansen: If there’s anything else you’d like to tell me, I’d like to hear it.

Gutierrez: No.

Gutierrez: No, that’s—wow, you taped me?  That’s crazy.

Hansen: Yeah.

Gutierrez: I never thought it was gonna (laughs) happen, and obviously it’s never gonna happen again. And I’m very sorry.  (laughs)  And—I’m totally so…Have a great day.

Hansen: Okay.

Gutierrez: So I can just walk out?  No problem?

Hansen: On your way.

Gutierrez: Thank you.  Have a good day. 

He obviously doesn’t know what’s about to happen next.

And any further attempts to come up with imaginative cover stories vanish in the presence of the police.

Det. Barnes: Alright?  Did you send her any photos—

Gutierrez: Yes, I did.

Det. Barnes: —of you?

Gutierrez: Yes.

Det. Barnes: Is that you?

Gutierrez: Yes.

Det. Barnes: You know it’s another crime to send lewd images to a child.

Gutierrez: Yeah.

Det. Barnes: Can’t do that.

Gutierrez: I know.

Det. Barnes: Do you know if it’s a crime to have sex with a girl that’s 13 years old?

Gutierrez: Yes, I do.

Det. Barnes: You knew it was a crime to do that?  Then why’d you come here?

Gutierrez: I was stupid.

Det. Barnes: You were stupid?

Gutierrez: Yeah.

Det. Barnes: You know, ‘cause, you know, based on reading this, you know, I know you came here to have sex with her.

Gutierrez: Right.

He’s charged with two felonies: one for sending the photos of his genitals and another for attempting to meet a 13-year-old for sex.

So far you’ve met men in the military, men in the computer industry.

But if there was a top ten list of most respected members of the community, a cancer doctor would probably be way up there.

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