Teens Solicited on Internet; Man Arrested

Teens Solicited on Internet; Man Arrested

An intense, five-week investigation by Randolph, state, and federal investigators led to the Dec. 23 arrest of a 30-year-old Northfield man who had allegedly been using the Internet to send messages of a sexual nature to two 14-year-old girls from the Randolph area.

At the time of his arrest, Joseph R. Schmidt was on federal probation for previous charges of using the Internet to persuade a minor to engage in a sexual act, and for traveling over state lines with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a juvenile, Randolph police said.

In that case, Schmidt had traveled from Vermont to Massachusetts to engage in a sex act with a young teen, police said.

Schmidt had been in Internet communication with the two local teens, but had never been in physical contact with them, according to Randolph Officer Michael Welch, who headed up the most recent investigation.

Welch said Schmidt had contacted the two girls via their online posting on "myspace.com," an Internet profile page popular with teens.

Users post information on "this is who I am, what I do, how old I am, what I like and don’t like," said Welch, plus their AOL instant messenger user name on the site.

"It’s the perfect place for predators," Welch commented.

Schmidt was taken into custody Dec. 23 by the U.S. Marshal’s Service for violation of terms of probation, and is now in federal prison, to serve the remaining 17 months of his prison term on the earlier charges, Welch said this week. Schmidt has already served two years in a federal prison on the earlier conviction.

New charges of "use of electronic communication to lure a child for sexual activity" and "disturbing the peace by electronic communication" will likely be filed against Schmidt in Vermont, Welch said. Other state and federal charges are possible.

Mother's Complaint

Welch began his investigation after a distraught mother arrived at the Randolph police station Nov. 15, to report that her 14-year-old daughter had been receiving messages from a 30-year-old man. The male had also communicated with her daughter’s 14-year-old friend, the woman said.

In his messages, the man offered to furnish alcohol, rides to and from school, and sex, police alleged.

Welch said the young teen had come to her mother, because the girl "didn’t think it was right." The 14-year-old told her mother that her friend had also received messages from the man, who had identified himself as a 30-year-old male.

Welch said that he felt certain that the two local 14-year-olds were the only two victims in this case.

Welch, formerly a computer technician, poured untold hours into the investigation over the next five weeks, both on and off-duty. He contacted the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations for assistance, and worked with state and federal authorities, as well.

On Dec. 23, Schmidt was interviewed at his place of work, at Norwich University in Northfield, by Officer Welch and FBI Special Agent T.C. Fuller. Randolph police said that Schmidt, a graduate of NU’s computer science program, was employed as a "user support specialist."

At the conclusion of the interview, Schmidt was taken into custody by a U.S. Marshal, on a federal arrest warrant for violation of probation.

Computers Seized

That same day, Welch and fellow RPD Officer Chris Alting, along with Capt. Bill Bohnyak of the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. and a Northfield PD officer conducted a search warrant of Schmidt’s Northfield home.

Welch said officers seized eight computers from the home, four of them Schmidt’s, and the balance belonging to others. Schmidt, a Randolph native, said he was fixing those four for their owners.

All were seized, Welch said, to determine if Schmidt had used them. It will take some time to complete the "computer forensics" on this equipment, and to determine if more charges will be filed, Welch indicated.

This week RPD Chief Jim Krakowiecki commended Welch for the investigation.

"Ptl. Welch spent a good deal of his off-duty time working on the case in order to bring it to a timely resolution," he noted.

Next week: Advice from local counselors, law enforcement officers, and school officials on how parents can help to protect their children against Internet predators.

By Sandy Cooch