Detective ferrets out net predators

The 36-year-old Shelbyville police detective sits at his computer, chatting over the Internet with a middle-aged man attracted to whom he thinks is a 13-year-old girl.

The alleged child predator agrees to meet the "13-year-old" in Shelbyville, and Charles Merlo's work takes another alleged child predator off the Internet and streets.

The detective says his interest in pursuing Internet child predators was spurred by the Perverted Justice web site, which specializes in helping law enforcement agencies fight cyber molesters.

"I'm still taking a class from pervertedjustice.com," Merlo said. "It's for law enforcement only. They provided 'Dateline NBC' with the resources when they were going after child molesters."

"Dateline NBC" broadcasts episodes entitled "To Catch a Predator," which feature online detectives snaring Internet predators on television.

Merlo is also gaining experience from an East Tennessee sheriff's department.

"I'm also talking to people in Blount County," Merlo said. "They have a HEAT (High-End Electronics And Technical) unit and have also helped me along the way."

"We've caught three so far and there are a couple more who have yet to come meet me," Merlo said. "Hopefully there will be more."

Hal Helton, one of three suspects arrested locally due to Internet contact with Merlo, is from Blount County. Hoppy Joe Brown, of Savannah, and Dustin Lee Owens, of Murfreesboro, are the other two suspects netted by Merlo.

The classes helped Merlo learn to convince online chatters of his assumed online identity.

"I made up a persona on Yahoo -- Perverted Justice taught me how to keep up with online predators."

A big challenge was learning chat lingo and how to communicate in the words of a young teenager, Merlo said.

"Perverted Justice classes put you into it and show you how to handle them.

"I just enter a Tennessee chat room, not even write anything and there are 10 or 15 people wanting to chat," Merlo said. "Within three minutes after contact they know how old someone is and still continue to chat.

"Anyone over 18 who continues to chat with someone who's 13 is a potential predator."

Merlo has found various levels of interest among his contacts.

"Some are aroused just from talking, others want to come meet with a girl," Merlo said. "Some just fantasize about being with a 13-year-old and it's enough. The question is, what point is this not enough?"

Merlo says he follows several Tennessee statutes while building his cases.

"I actually set up the meetings and confer with the district attorney about what we have," Merlo said.

The time required to lure a suspect to Shelbyville varies, Merlo says.

"It takes various lengths of time to get them to come here. One's been talking with me for over a month. It took one only three days.

"When they come depends on their lifestyle. One took his birthday off from work and came to meet us. They come from all backgrounds. One came from a well-off family; his lawyer is (University of Tennessee football coach) Phillip Fulmer's. Others come from lesser backgrounds.

"Those coming from out of town are less suspicious about Shelbyville than a larger city," Merlo said. "They don't think they're going to be met by police."

Detective Brian Crews backs up Merlo at the meetings.

"We wait on them in places where there's only one way in and out," Merlo said. "When they pull in, they're caught."

"We typically conduct a traffic stop. None of them have become violent yet."

Merlo said although a suspect may not have a record of sex crimes, there's no guarantee that this is their first time.

"They're not just child predators," Crews said. "Some are just sex addicts, not targeting teens, open to meet a prostitute, for example."

Crews urges parents to monitor their children's use of the Internet and visits to such socially-oriented web sites as MySpace, NetChat, Vivo and others.

"Have your computer in a centrally-located room of your home," Crews said. "Also, camera phones can be used to send pornographic material.

"It's against the law to send explicit photos of juveniles. You don't have to have the Internet. They don't need webcams when camera phones are available."

Merlo said he appreciates the backing of Shelbyville officials.

"I'm getting 100 percent backing from higher-ups," Merlo said.