Attorney General Mike Cox today announced that his office has reached a new benchmark and arrested 200 Internet predators since 2003. Upon taking office, Cox restructured the criminal division and made child protection a priority of his administration.
"Every day, child predators troll the Internet seeking to exploit our children," said Cox. "Today''''s record breaking achievement is a reminder that my office and law enforcement across the state continues to track down child predators in order to remove them before they can hurt a child."
Cox reached the 200th mark with the arrest of James Scott Rogers, 44, of Linden. Rogers is charged with using the Internet to commit child sexual abusive activity.
On August 25, Rogers was arrested after attempting to meet with who he thought was the minor he communicated with on the Internet. Rogers was communicating with an undercover volunteer from the citizens'''' group Perverted Justice posing as a 14-year old girl. Rogers was also charged with 2 felonies for sending sexually explicit photos to the person he believed was a 14-year old girl.
Rogers was arraigned on August 26, 2008, at 34th District Court in Romulus, before Judge Tina Brooks Green. He is charged with:
One count of child sexually abusive activity, a 20 year felony;
One count of using the Internet to communicate with another to commit child sexually abusive activity, a 20 year felony;
One count of using the Internet to disseminate sexually explicit matter to a minor, a 4 year felony; and,
One count of using the Internet to distribute child sexually abusive material to a minor, a 10 year felony.
Judge Green set Rogers'''' bond at $50,000 cash, the defendant is scheduled to be back in court on October 1, 2008. Upon examination of Rogers'''' computer, child pornography was discovered; more charges are possible, pending further investigation.
Because of the seriousness of the problem of Internet predators, Cox created an education curriculum that his Department teaches in schools throughout Michigan called the Child Safety Initiative (Michigan CSI). The initiative is broken into four classes, targeting grades, K-1, 2-3, 4-6, and a community seminar aimed at educating teachers, parents and community leaders. The program has received national praise and reached more than 214,000 students in the 2007-08 school year, and began its second season last week.
For more information on how to protect your child from Internet predators visit www.michigan.gov/csi.
Parents are encouraged to check their children''''s "buddy lists" for the screen name Rogers used including "niceguy4u810." If they believe their child had contact with Rogers, parents should contact the Attorney General''''s office at (313) 456-0180.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
By the Office of the Michigan Attorney General
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