Prominent men caught in Petaluma sting

Decoy: Hey, you made it. Come on back.

Maurice Wolin: Yeah, please.  How are you?

Decoy: Good, how are you?  So, not bad of a drive?

Wolin: Naw, well, not too bad.

Decoy: Oh, take a seat. I made some drinks.  I made frozen lemonade.

Wolin: Thank you.

Maurice Wolin is 48 years old, married and a prominent San Francisco physician. It’s hard to believe that someone of his stature would show up to meet a girl who said she was 13 and then follow her into the backyard where she invites him to go in her hot tub. 

Decoy: Pour me a drink.  I’m actually gonna put on my suit so maybe we can get in the hot tub ‘cause it’s all warm.

He met the girl online three days earlier. The person he was chatting with was really a Perverted Justice decoy pretending to be 13.  Using the screen name “talldreamy_doc” he lies and says he’s 29 year old. Remember, he’s really 48.  He asks the girl, “What bra size you wear?” She says "30b but it’s kinda big on me right now i’m still growing."

He replies, “I will kiss them.” He goes into graphic detail about giving and receiving oral sex and later says “I’m so horny for you.” and asks her to masturbate while thinking of him.   He tells her several times he “could get into trouble” --  but it isn’t enough to stop him from coming over and helping himself to a drink.

Wolin: I can’t-- (spills) oh, geez, I’ll get a rag.

Decoy: So where you coming from?

Wolin: San Francisco.

Decoy: Oh, okay.  Oh yeah, so there probably was a lot traffic, huh?

Wolin: Do you have a—do you have a towel, or a—

Decoy: Yeah there’s a towel on the chair.

We’ll never know what would have happened next because as the doctor looks for a towel, he spots Dateline’s camera crew.

Wolin: Okay, I gotta take off.

Decoy: What?

Hansen: Sir?  Sir?

Wolin: Yeah?

Hansen: I need to talk to you for a minute.

He runs—but he doesn’t get very far.

And like all the other men caught in this investigation, he’s brought to this booking station.

Wolin: What am I being booked for?

Officer: We’ll explain all of that to you.

Wolin: Can I call my wife?

Officer: You can do that after this booking procedure.

The police ask routine personal questions, but the doctor appears on the verge of panic. Nothing’s sinking in.

Officer: He’s failing to comprehend.

Wolin: I’m not failing to comprehend.  I’m just really scared.

Officer: There’s nothing to be scared about. 

Wolin: I’ve never done anything beyond a traffic ticket.  I feel like I made a mistake, but I feel like I didn’t do anything.

And he’s not happy about seeing our cameras.

Wolin:  I’m in handcuffs.  I have pictures being taken of me.  Left and right.  I don’t know what I’m being accused of.

He’s then taken in for questioning by Detective Steve Nelson of the Petaluma Police Department.

Det. Steve Nelson: First thing I’m gonna do is explain to you your Miranda rights.  Okay?  You have the right to remain silent.

At first the doctor agrees to talk.

Det. Steve Nelson: So like to talk about what happened today. 

But he quickly changes his mind.

Det. Nelson: What screen name do you use?

Wolin: I really need to have an attorney I think present.

Det. Nelson: Okay.  Okay.

But despite asking for an attorney, he chooses to keep talking...

Det. Nelson: Okay?  I’m not gonna discuss this further because I can’t.  Okay?  Unless you wanna waive your right to have an attorney present.

The detective asks him four more times if he’s waiving his right to an attorney and each time he says yes and continues to talk.

Wolin: I’m scared out of my mind.

Det. Nelson: Right.  And I understand that.

Wolin: You saw my record.  I’ve never done anything wrong in my life.

Det. Nelson: Okay.

Wolin: And now I’m being charged with very serious offenses.

Det. Nelson: Why did you come to he house in Petaluma today?

Wolin: I was curious.

Det. Nelson: Okay.  Curious about what?

Wolin: I chatted with someone online.  She asked to meet me on several occasions.  I declined.  And today again she asked.  I had a little bit of time, not very much.

Det. Nelson: Okay.

Wolin: And so I thought I would come out and meet her and nothing more.

Det. Nelson: Okay.  How old was the person you were chatting with?

Wolin: I’m not sure. I know she was young and I know that—

Det. Nelson: Under 18?

Wolin: I’m not sure.

Det. Nelson: Did you talk to her about “touching and kissing and making each other feel good”?

Wolin: I remember she’s saying that she had trouble finding somebody to make her feel good.

Det. Nelson: Okay.

Wolin: I was playing with her.

Det. Nelson: And then you typed to her “I wouldn’t stop until you came over and over.”

Wolin: Remember saying that.

Det. Nelson: Then you talked to her about kissing her chest?

Wolin: I don’t remember.

Det. Nelson: And then you told her, “No I’m real but you’re under 18 and I’m over.  We would have to be so careful.”

Wolin: I don’t remember saying that.  But I told her that she needed to be—I was concerned about her.  She needed to be careful.

Det. Nelson: So you commented about her body lookin’ pretty—

Wolin: Yeah. Yeah.  Yeah.  Yeah.

Det. Nelson: Okay.

Wolin: I don’t remember.

Det. Nelson: And then you asked her what bra size she wore?  And she said, “30 B but it kinda big on me right now.  I’m still growin’.”

Wolin: I don’t remember her saying that.

Det. Nelson: Okay.  And saying that you will kiss them?

Wolin: I don’t remember. The only reason I came today I was curious that I wasn’t going to do anything.  And if you read that you can tell that over and over again I said that both I shouldn’t come.  She should be careful.

Det. Nelson: But I’m also reading, I mean correct me if I’m wrong, you’re talking about you want her to take your pants off.

Wolin: When?

Det. Nelson: You talk about you know, “What will you wear?”  “I don’t know what—whatever—whatever’s clean.  Something sexy.”  Then you said, “Will you take it off for me?”  And then you ask her then, “Do you want her to take your pants off also?”

Wolin: It was just wa—

Det. Nelson: And, “You can—you can take mine off if you want.”

Wolin: I wasn’t so—

Det. Nelson: How do you wanna do it?

Wolin: I wasn’t going to do anything. It was not appropriate. Officer Nelson, I shouldn’t have talked to her.  You’re right.  I wasn’t—

Det. Nelson: Okay.

Wolin:  --going to do anything with her.

Det. Nelson: So you drove 40 minutes from Piedmont to meet a 13-year-old—

Wolin: I didn’t know she was 13.

Nelson: --that nothing would’ve happened.

Wolin: That’s right.

Det. Nelson: And you expect me to believe that?

Wolin: It’s true.

Det. Nelson: After you talk about having—

Wolin: It’s the truth.

Det. Nelson: --different sexual—

Wolin: It’s the truth.

Det. Nelson: --acts with her?

Dr. Wolin: It’s the truth.  She begged me to come.  And I know that doesn’t make it right but I never would’ve done anything.

Det. Nelson: Okay.  All right.  The time’s approximately 14:38 and I conclude the interview.

Wolin: Can I call my wife?

He’s taken out of the interrogation room, an officer dials the doctor’s wife and hands him the phone.

Wolin (on the phone with his wife): “Honey, I’m in big trouble, I’ll explain. You have to bail me out of Sonoma county jail. $30,000 check. It was a sting operation, ill explain it to you later. Don’t bring the girls. I need you so badly just come… I didn’t do anything, but I did something stupid.”

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