HARRISBURG – Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that agents from the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit have arrested an Allegheny County man accused of sending nude photographs and child pornography to what he believed was a 13-year old girl. The “girl” was actually an undercover agent from the Child Predator Unit who was using the online profile of a child.
Corbett identified the defendant as Paul Hagelthorn, 53 of Natrona Heights.
Corbett said that Hagelthorn allegedly used an Internet chat room to approach an undercover agent on April 1, 2008, telling the undercover agent, “I like young pretty girls,” and asking her if she was interested in meeting an older man. Several minutes later, Hagelthorn allegedly sent the girl five digital photographs of a man’s penis and also instructed her to masturbate.
“It is essential for parents and teens to understand how quickly online conversations can progress from initial contact to sexually explicit content,” Corbett said. “As demonstrated by this case, predators will often begin sexually graphic discussions within minutes of contacting a child, and many suspects send nude photos during their first online meeting.”
Corbett said that Hagelthorn allegedly continued to contact the girl online, repeatedly expressing his desire to meet her for sex. In addition, Hagelthorn asked for nude photos of the girl and also sent her several items of suspected illegal child pornography – specifically, photographs that appeared to show children engaging in sexual activity with adults.
According to the criminal complaint, Hagelthorn asked the girl if she had any female friends who would be interested in participating in sexual activity. He also allegedly instructed the girl to delete the nude photos he had sent her during earlier chats.
During the course of his online chats, Hagelthorn allegedly sent the girl nude photographs or sexually propositioned her on seven different occasions. Additionally, Hagelthorn is accused of transmitting 25 images of suspected illegal child pornography.
Hagelthorn was arrested at his home on Monday, June 2nd, by agents from the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit, assisted by Harrison Township Police. Following the arrest, agents executed a search warrant at Hagelthorn’s home, seizing four computers, several digital cameras and numerous data storage disks. Those items will be analyzed by the Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit as part of an ongoing investigation.
Hagelthorn is charged with seven counts of unlawful contact with a minor (obscene or sexual materials or performances), seven counts of criminal use of a computer and 25 counts of sexual abuse of children (dissemination or possession of child pornography). All of those charges are third degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Hagelthorn was preliminarily arraigned before Natrona Magisterial District Judge Carolyn Bengel and lodged in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail. He was also ordered to undergo a behavioral clinic analysis and prohibited from using the Internet or having any unsupervised contact with minors. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 11th, at 1 p.m., before Magisterial District Judge Bengel.
Summer Danger – “Operation Summer Surf”
Corbett said that the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit has arrested 146 Internet predators since it was created in January 2005, including 30 arrests since the beginning of this year.
In May 2008, Corbett was joined by representatives from the Pennsylvania Parent Teacher Association, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, to launch “Operation Summer Surf” – reminding parents and teens across Pennsylvania to regularly discuss online safety and remain vigilant this summer.
Corbett said that there was a notable increase in the number of Internet predators arrested by the Attorney General’s Office last summer – a total of 17 arrests between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2007, including men who traveled from as far away as Kentucky in order to have sexual contact with children. Corbett said the number of arrests in the summer of 2007 was nearly double the number of arrests from the previous summer.
Corbett added that undercover agents have reported an increase in the number of Internet predators questioning children about their summer vacation plans, or asking them about times where they may be home alone, as part of discussions about meeting the children or sending them sexually graphic videos.
Operation Summer Surf is an expansion of the Attorney General’s popular “Operation Safe Surf” Internet safety education program, which was created in October 2006 and has now reached nearly 140,000 children and adults from across the state.
Corbett said that today’s teens have grown up with the Internet and have never known a world without it, making “surfing” a part of their life that they often take for granted. Operation Summer Surf emphasizes that the same rules of Internet safety apply not just to September through June, but throughout the summer months as well.
“Predators will always be drawn to locations that give them the greatest access to the largest number of potential victims,” Corbett said. “Today, they stalk a variety of online sites, including chat rooms; social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook; Internet message boards; video game sites; and even online classified ads on Craigslist.com.”
Corbett noted that the techniques used by Internet predators change rapidly, spurred by developments in communication technology and changes in where and how children communicate online. He added that predators will communicate with children in many different ways, using public or private online chat rooms, instant message programs, text messages, email, cell phones and webcams.
“It is essential for parents to understand how quickly online conversations can progress from initial contact to sexually explicit content,” Corbett said. “Often, predators will begin a sexually graphic discussion within minutes of contacting a child, and many suspects transmit nude photos or explicit videos during their first online meeting.”
Corbett encouraged parents to discuss Internet safety with their children, including the danger of meeting strangers who approach them online. He also advised that parents ask their children to show them what they are doing online, setting ground rules for summer online communication to help kids use the Internet safely and in a responsible manner.
Operation Safe Surf and Operation Summer Surf materials are provided free-of-charge to schools and community groups. Organizations interested in materials, speakers or presentations, contact the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Office at 1-800-525-7642 or via email at education@attorneygeneral.gov.
Suspected internet predators can be reported to the Attorney General’s Office by calling the toll-free Child Predator Hotline, at 1-800-385-1044, or filing an online complaint using the Attorney General’s Web site (Click on the “Report an Internet Predator” link, located on the front page of the Web site)
Internet safety tips and other information for parents, children and teachers are available in the “Operation Safe Surf” and “Just for Kids” sections of the Attorney General’s Web site (Click on the “Kids, Parents & Schools” link at the top of the front page).