The scariest potential predator

Chris Hansen Correspondent • Profile

FLAGLER BEACH, FLA. - Who wouldn’t want to visit Flagler Beach? This small, idyllic spit of land on Florida’s east coast attracts thousands of visitors every year. But some of the visitors you’ll meet   aren’t just coming for the sun, sand, and surf.

Flagler Beach it seems, is a town ready to take on  potential sex predators.

Officer Kevin Pineda explains the kind of complaints his department has been hearing.

Officer Kevin Pineda: Older gentleman going to our beach—that much isn’t a crime, they’re just staring at people.  But when they start making advances towards the young generation in our city, it causes concern. 

Having seen Dateline’s investigations, Pineda decided to conduct his own experiment.  He  set up his own decoy profile online in local chat rooms, posing as a 14-year-old girl named “Jenna,” screen name “flaglerbeauty14f.”

Officer Pineda: Within about 5 to 10 minutes the screen was just cluttered with instant messages, you know, emails.  It was just unbelievable.

Over  just two days, Pineda received messages from more than a hundred people, mostly older men and their intent was unmistakable. One guy sent an image of his penis, and his wife performing oral sex on him.

Having witnessed the problem firsthand, Pineda asked the police chief if he could invite Perverted-Justice to Flagler Beach.

Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent: And how did he respond?

Officer Pineda: He was a little wary at first.  He told me to do my research on it, contact other departments that actually used Perverted Justice.

Hansen: And what did you find?

Officer Pineda: Absolutely nothing but, just overwhelming joy from other departments that have actually utilized their services.

So Chief Roger Free gave his consent.

Hansen: Did you have any fears going in?

Chief Free: Yeah.  If something went wrong, of course it would be all over the place.

Hansen: Any regrets?

Chief Free: None whatsoever.

Last December, Dateline and Perverted-Justice set up an investigation in a  beach-front house. It got crowde, some men even came two at a time.

Meet 25-year-old psychology student named Safraz Khan: Weeks before he arrived at our house, Khan who uses the screen name "tennisboy213," took 13 years off his age, and began speaking to a Perverted-Justice decoy who told him she’s a 13-year-old female.

Dateline pays Perverted-Justice to do what it normally does: set up profiles in chat rooms that appear to be from underage teens—in this case ages 13  to 15 —who are curious about sex.

In his chat, Khan asks the girl if she’s a virgin, and if she likes older guys.  Then, Khan the student becomes the teacher, advising her on such matters as erections, masturbation, oral sex, sexual positions, and how sex for her may hurt at first because she’s a virgin.

But he clearly knows what he’s doing is illegal:

tennisboy213 (chat log): i’m kinda afraid to come see u… because i could go to jail if i touched u ur a minor

But later, he sends along a picture of his genitals, and says he’ll bring lots of condoms.

He makes a date online to come to the girl’s house when she says she will be alone.

Female decoy: You can come in.  Hi.

Female decoy: How you doing?

Khan is walking into a house loaded with hidden cameras, a Dateline crew, and members of Perverted-Justice.  He appears to suspect there’s more here than meets the eye.

Female Decoy: You can come in and sit down if you want.

Safraz Khan: No, that’s all right.  You aren’t the one I talked to on the phone.

Decoy: On the phone?

Khan: Yeah.

Because he’s wary, I decide to make an early appearance.                   

Hansen: I need to talk to you for a minute.  Why don’t you have a seat right there.  What’s going on?

Khan: I’m sorry.

Hansen: You’re sorry for what?

Khan: That I did this.

Hansen: And what did you do exactly?

Khan: I came to meet someone that was underage.

Hansen: That was underage.  And why did you do that?

Khan: I don’t know.

Hansen:  It sure seemed like you knew what you wanted during this chat.

And we’re out of time, because our next visitor is here. The result is a “To Catch a Predator” first— simultaneous interviews. Our decoy invites him inside.

Hansen: Why don’t you come in over here and stand right over here at the bar.  How are you?

Yaz Asfour: I’m good.  How are you?

Hansen: Good, good.  Please, come here.  I want you guys to meet each other.  This is TennisBoy213.  And Tennis Boy, this is SlaveToMistresses, right?

Asfour: Yeah.

Hansen: What are you doing here?

Actually it’s pretty clear to us what he’s doing here and who he is— it’s all in his online chat.

26-year-old Yazan Asfour uses the screen name slave2mistresses. That gives you an idea what’s on his mind. He’s a former member of a Jordanian basketball team, and now a student and personal trainer.

slave2mistresses: hi

jen_is_jennah: hey

slave2mistresses: a/s/l please

jen_is_jennah: 13 f fl

jen_is_jennah u?

slave2mistresses: o really

slave2mistresses: i am 24 m slave tampa

Like the previous man, Asfour chatted with a decoy who told him she was 13. But unlike Khan, Asfour mostly wanted the girl to do things to him. We can’t get too detailed, but we can say he prefers to be treated like a dog and also a toilet. (We’ll have to leave it at that.)

He sends naked pictures of himself like these in which he’s wearing a dog collar, along with a link to a Website that illustrates what he’s talking about.

So  what’s he have to say now that he’s alongside another potential predator—just like two guys at the bar? 

Hansen: What are you doing here tonight?

Asfour: Nothing.

Hansen: Nothing?

Asfour: Yeah.

Hansen: Well, it sure seems like you had a lot of plans in this chat.

Khan: Can I ask a question?

Hansen: Sure.

Khan: Is my family gonna have to know about this?

Hansen: Why are you so concerned about your family knowing?

Khan: ‘Cause this—this is something that would just ruin my life.

Hansen: Well, you made the decision to come in here.  I’m gonna get back with you in a minute ‘cause I have a couple questions for you (talking to other man).  What were you planning on doing here tonight? Did you bring your collar with you?  No.  What is all this slave talk in here?

Asfour: Is 13? 

Hansen: Huh?  13, yes. 

Asfour: I don’t want to have sex.

Hansen: Well, that’s not what you say here.  That you in those pictures?  Got a collar on there.  You sent this, right?  You sent this?

Asfour: I can’t remember.

Hansen: You can’t remember.  That’s you, though, right?

Asfour: Yeah.

Hansen: So there’s only one way that these pictures could have gotten here… and that’s by you sending them.

Hansen: And for you, you sent pictures, too, didn’t you?  And what did that picture show?

Khan: I was naked.

Hansen:  And you thought that was okay to send a naked picture of yourself to a 13-year-old girl?

Khan: No, it’s not okay.

Hansen: But why did you do it?

Khan: It’s a weakness of mine.

Khan tells me he brought condoms, and knows what’s going on.

Khan: I’ve seen this program before.

Hansen: You’ve seen this program?

Khan: Yeah.

Hansen: All right.  Well, you know what you’ve walked into here. You’re still trying to figure this out.  So I’m gonna tell you both what’s going on here.  I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC.

Khan:  Okay.

Hansen: And we’re doing a story on adults who try to meet underage teens online for sex.

Asfour still appears confused, but khan clearly knows what’s coming.

Asfour: Yeah, but I—

Khan: We both gonna get arrested I think.

Asfour: What?

Khan: Yeah. I’m very sorry about this. I just wanna make things right.  I feel really bad about this.

Hansen: Okay.  Well, I appreciate that.

Khan leaves.  Asfour follows shortly after. Outside, the Flagler Beach police are waiting.

Back at the police station, the two men are questioned by investigators at the same time.

Asfour is worried about his reputation, and still says he didn’t do anything wrong.

Yazan Asfour (to police): ...the situation will hurt me if it’s on the TV. I’m not do any criminal in my life. I told you I don’t do any sex... any sex with a woman.

Police: What if you had got it over here and she had wanted to have had sex with you?

Asfour: I would not accept.  Because many girls try to have sex with me.  I did not— I swear I am a virgin.  I swear to God. My goal was to know her because she was nice with me.

Police: Yes.  Your goal was to have her do the things that you type in there at some point.

Asfour: Maybe.  Yeah maybe that’s true after I know her but not in the first meeting.

Down the hall, it’s a different story with the psychology major Safraz Khan.

Khan: I just made a terrible mistake that could possibly affect me for the rest of my life. Would that be a fair assumption?

Detective Liz Williams: That would be a very fair assumption, actually.

Kahn tells Detective Liz Williams of the Flagler Beach Police that he’s been having sexual chats with underage girls since he was 20.

Det. Williams: How many of those girls did you send pictures to?

Khan: Probably all of them.

Det. Williams:  All of them?

Khan: I struggle with this internally.  I’ve always known it’s wrong.  And I never realized just  how big of a problem it is.

Later, both men were charged with three felonies, including attempting to commit a lewd act on a child, and using a computer to send harmful material to a minor. If convicted, Khan could face up to five years in prison.

Asfour, because he’s been charged with a 2^nd degree felony for sending those graphic online pictures, could face up to 15 years. And, because both men are not U.S. citizens, if convicted, they could be deported after serving their sentences.

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