The News Room [News Release]
Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-224-0615
Release Date: Thursday, May 20, 2004
Online predators traveling farther
to meet underage girls, Sheriff says --- Last 3 suspects drove
from Jackson, Saginaw & Flint
to Wayne County
In a disturbing new trend, adult men who are allegedly attempting
to meet with underage girls for sex in Wayne County are increasingly
willing to travel greater distances to meet them, according to
Sheriff Warren Evans.
Late this morning, a 23-year old Flint-area resident was formally
charged with attempting to meet who he thought was a 14-year old
girl he had met in an Internet chat room. The girl actually turned
out to be an undercover sheriff’s deputy.
Travis Timlin, who spends time living with his divorced parents
in Davison Township and Schwartz Creek near Flint, is being held
at the Wayne County jail on $150,000 bond. He was arrested Wednesday
afternoon on the county’s east side when he showed up for
a meet he had arranged while chatting with the deputy. Investigators
have seized computers from both homes and will examine the hard
drives for evidence of Timlin’s chats.
Timlin’s arrest marks the third time in two weeks than adult
men have allegedly traveled to Wayne County from outside the metropolitan
Detroit area for a sexual meet. “Parents need to understand
that sexual predators will go to great lengths to meet their needs,
and the past two weeks illustrates that very clearly,” Evans
said. “These individuals are cunning and can exploit children
all too easily.”
Last Thursday, 46-year old Saginaw resident Stephen Rademacher
was arrested Thursday after undercover busted him in a similar
sting. Rademacher, who also is still being held at the county
jail, works as the director of technology at St. Thomas Aquinas
elementary school in Saginaw. When he arrived at the meeting
place, Rademacher had with him condoms, a variety of other sexual
aids and a six-pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
The previous Friday, deputies arrested 29-year old Adam Goodrow,
a high school teacher from Jackson. He is free after posting bond.
If convicted, each suspect faces up to 20 years in prison and
automatic placement on the state’s Sex Offender Registry.
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