HARRISBURG -Agents from the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit have arrested two Pittsburgh area men accused of using Internet chat rooms to sexually proposition what they believed were 13-year-old girls. The girls were actually undercover agents from the Child Predator Unit.
Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendants as Jason Stolarz, 24, Pittsburgh, and Lee R. Bowers, 57, Monroeville, Allegheny County.
Corbett noted that these men are the 79th and 80th suspected Internet predators that the Child Predator Unit has arrested since its creation in January 2005.
Corbett said that on June 11, Jason Stolarz used an Internet chat room to contact an undercover agent from the Child Predator Unit, who was using the online profile of a 13-year-old girl.
During their initial chat, Stolarz immediately requested a photo of the child and quickly began asking the girl a series of explicit questions about her sexual experiences. He allegedly expressed concern about the child’s age saying “its very illegal,” “u could b a undercover cop online,” and “I could go to jail.”
The criminal complaint states that Stolarz encouraged the girl to get a Web cam and “hide it” from her mother, telling the child “if u ever got a cam that would make things more comfortable.”
Corbett said that as the chat continued, Stolarz allegedly transmitted a graphic Web cam video of himself and continued to ask the child sexually graphic questions as he transmitted the video. Stolarz was arrested on June 19 by agents from the Child Predator Unit and officers from the Whitehall Police Department.
Corbett said that agents executed a search warrant, seizing a computer tower and Web cam, which will be analyzed by the Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit as part of the continuing investigation.
Stolarz is charged with two counts each of unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a computer, both third-degree felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. He was preliminarily arraigned at the Allegheny Night Court and is currently out on $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing has been continued to Aug. 14 at 9:30 pm.
According to the criminal complaint for Lee Bowers, he allegedly approached an undercover agent from the Child Predator Unit on Oct. 12. Bowers initiated the first chat by commenting that, although the child was only 13 years old, she looked more like 23years old.
Corbett said that Bowers allegedly asked the child how many “dirty old men” she talked to online and asked her if she had any pictures saying, “well, don’t mean to be naughty, but if u ever take any nudies.let me know.”
The charges state that during two following chats, Bowers graphically described to the girl the sexual activity that he and his wife frequently engaged in, as well as asking her a series of sexually graphic questions.
Bowers initiated a series of 12 online chats with the child between October and June.
Corbett said that on June 8, Bowers began sending the child various sexually graphic pictures of himself, his wife and their friend engaged in sexual activity. He also allegedly sent a nude photo of a 23-year-old female who he had chatted with as well as another nude photo of a female, whom he indicated had been a minor that he had previously chatted with.
According to the criminal complaint, Bowers continued to ask the child personal questions about her body and encouraged her to send naked photos to him. He allegedly asked the child during these chats if she would ever go into the woods with him, stating, “so if we hooked up in the woods what kind of pics u want me to take of u.”
Corbett said that Bowers allegedly considered meeting the child, but told her that he would only meet if she supplied him with pictures of her in a thong.
Bowers was arrested on Monday at his place of employment by agents from the Child Predator Unit and officers from the Monroeville Police Department. He is charged with six counts each of unlawful contact with a minor, attempted unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a computer. Each count is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Corbett said that officers executed a search of his office and home seizing an office computer, storage items, multiple home computers, videos and electronic storage devices. Bowers was preliminarily arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey Herbst and held on $50,000 bond.
Corbett said that both Stolarz and Bowers will be prosecuted in Allegheny County by Deputy Attorney General William F. Caye of the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit.
Corbett thanked the Whitehall Police Department and the Monroeville Police Department for their cooperation and assistance with the investigations.