He had inappropriate communications with a local cop posing as a 14-year-old girl
A 24-year-old Minnesota man pleaded guilty Monday in Boone County Circuit Court to two counts of attempted sexual misconduct involving a child.
This conviction is the result of an investigation that started in late September 2011 when a Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force investigator, masquerading as a 14-year-old Columbia girl, was contacted in an Internet chat room by the defendant.
Between late September and mid-December 2011, the defendant engaged in several conversations with the decoy child. On at least two occasions, he exposed himself to her using his webcam. During the conversations, the man also allegedly attempted to persuade the girl to engage in sexual activity by touching herself sexually and with a foreign object. He also tried to get her to take sexually graphic photographs of herself and sending them to him.
The Cyber Crimes investigator was able to trace the transmissions to a residence in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Assistance was sought from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions, which is also a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. And on February 1, 2012, the Boone County Missouri Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed felony charges against the defendant.
On the early evening of Tuesday, February 2, 2012, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions served a court ordered search warrant at the defendants’ residence and arrested him on the Boone County Missouri charges.
The defendant is identified as Joshua Anderson of Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
On Monday, August 27, 2012, Anderson pleaded guilty to two counts of Attempted Sexual Misconduct Involving a Child Under 15. Sentencing is scheduled for October 9, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. in Boone County Circuit Court Division 4.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is a national task force with member agencies in every state. Both the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force are affiliate members of this organization.
The ICAC Task Force allows localized and specially trained task forces to network and work together in a common effort to protect children and families across the United States. Results of this investigation is due to the cooperative effort between the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force, Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions, and Minnesota State Prosecutors.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, the University of Missouri Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
This project is supported by funding made available through the federal Recovery Act –Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program administered by the U.S. Dept. of Justice & Mo. Dept of Public Safety.
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