The News Room [News Release] Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-224-0615 Cyber Deputies bust local volunteer fireman attempting to meet with 13-year-old for sex 49-year-old Novi man also charged for having loaded weapon when arrested
Novi resident Wayne Wang was arrested late Thursday at an undisclosed meet site in the downriver area. Officers say that Wang chatted with an undercover deputy for only two hours on one day before setting up at meet with the officer. While Wang is not a full-time member of the Novi Fire Department and uses his own vehicle to respond to call, he is paid by the city of Novi on a per-run basis, he says. Wang arrived at the meet location in a customized personal red SUV that had an emergency light bar on the roof and was equipped with a police radio. More troubling, Evans said, was the fact that Wang had in the console of the vehicle a loaded .45-caliber handgun. Although he had a permit to carry the weapon, prosecutors charged Wang for having a firearm in the commission of a felony, which carries a two year prison sentence if he is convicted.
Investigators say that Wang planned to take the girl back to his Novi home to have sex with her, he also had a sleeping bag in the back of his vehicle. Wang is being held at the Wayne County Jail on $200,000 cash bond and also has been charged with one count of Illegal Use of the Internet and another count of Child Sexually Abusive Behavior, both of which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The arrest comes at a time when a Reno, Nevada Circuit Court judge has ruled that a man cannot be charged with a similar crime because he was chatting online with an adult police officer, not an underage girl. The Nevada ruling comes despite a previous US 9th District Court of Appeals ruling that supported the use of undercover officers, specifically in cases involving online predators. Evans said that although his officers are on firm legal ground in Michigan, he found it troubling that there may be a movement afoot in another state to strip law enforcement of a very useful tool in catching Internet predators. Since Evans took office in January 2003, his Internet Crime Unit has made 63 arrests and maintains a 100 percent conviction rate. |
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Warren
C. Evans
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Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies last week arrested a 49-year-old volunteer firefighter they say was attempting to meet at 13-year-old girl to have sex with her, Sheriff Warren Evans said today.
While executing a search warrant on Wang’s home, they also found approximately 40 additional firearms. Although Wang appears to be a legitimate gun collector, Evans said his deputies removed the weapons so they would not be unsecured while Wang, who lives alone, is in jail.