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For three-and-a-half days men have been showing up at our beach house at the Jersey Shore...
(arrest)
Cops: Get down! Get down on the ground!
And one after the other they've been arrested by officers from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Tom Kelaher: There seems to be a compulsion with these folks and I don't think that they improve with age.
Tom Kelaher is the Ocean County Prosecutor. He says these men won't get off easy.
Tom Kelaher: They've been charged with two second-degree crimes:luring and attempted sexual assault. Which makes them eligible for anywhere from five to ten years in prison. But, they're also gonna be classified as Megan's offenders so that they will be under lifetime supervision. And that's because of the likelihood that they would re-offend.
Which leads us to our next visitor. We know before he ever drives up to the house that 36-year-old Todd Lewis is a registered sex offender. He's driven six hours from Pennsylvania.
Todd Lewis: Wow, this place is beautiful.
Female voice: Come on in. Thanks. How was your trip?
Todd Lewis: Oh, it wasn't bad.
Female voice: No? I've always wanted to go on a motorcycle. (laughter)
Todd Lewis: I was thinking about that.
Female voice: Were you?
Todd Lewis: Yeah. Wow. (laughter)
He's been chatting with a decoy posing as a 14-year-old. Calling himself “ps3player178” he tells the girl he'd love it if she gave him oral sex because his girlfriend never did it. And in return he offers to "treat her."
(Chat transcript)
ps3player178: if i would use my fingers and tongue......would be just like sex
ps3player178: but softer
Decoy: mite b cool
He later makes a startling admission -- he tells the decoy he's been caught before meeting a minor for sex.
ps3player178:she was 14 and she wanted to meet for sex
ps3player178: um
ps3player178: i got in a lot of trouble
ps3player178: im on probation now
But he keeps on chatting for five more days. Now he seems to think that he's finally met the 14-year-old in person.
Todd Lewis: I wasn't sure what you liked so I got you M&Ms and Hershey.
Female voice: Oh, nice. Thanks. (laughter) Do you want me to go get you some milk for your brownies?
Todd Lewis: That will be good.
Female voice: Okay, I'll be right back.
Todd Lewis: Are you always so polite?
Female voice: Yeah. (laughter)
Chris Hansen: How's it taste?
Todd Lewis: Good.
Chris Hansen: Why don't you have a seat right over there please.
Chris Hansen: Now what were you doing coming here Todd?
Todd Lewis: I-- just-- I was just taking the weekend off that's all … Who am I taking to? Can I at least ask you that?
Chris Hansen: Well, I'll get to that in just a minute.
Chris Hansen: Now you've been down this path before, right?
Todd Lewis: Yes.
Chris Hansen: Okay. And tell me about that case.
Todd Lewis: No, I won't.
Chris Hansen: I've got the picture right here of you from the Megan's Law website. That's you right?
Todd Lewis: Yes.
Chris Hansen: Uh-huh (affirm). What were you convicted of? It says sexual assault here.
Todd Lewis: Correct.
In 2003 he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl who he had met online. The victim said he took her into the woods, engaged in kissing and she performed oral sex on him.
Chris Hansen: And the -- the girl in that case was how old?
Todd Lewis: Fourteen.
Chris Hansen: Same age as this girl tonight.
Chris Hansen: "I got in a trouble. I'm on probation now." As you sit on that stool, right now, you're on probation.
Todd Lewis: Correct.
Chris Hansen: ...for having sex with a 14-year-old girl?
Todd Lewis: No.
Chris Hansen: For doing something with a 14-year-old girl.
Todd Lewis: You could say that.
He tells me several times he won't answer my questions until I tell him who I am. Well he's about to find out.
Chris Hansen: You tell her, "You should chat with guys closer to your age."
Todd Lewis: Please. You know, unless you got cameras running here there's no reason for this little hysterics.
Chris Hansen: Do you ever watch television?
Todd Lewis: Yes, I do.
Chris Hansen: Do you ever watch Dateline NBC?
Todd Lewis: No. Never.
Chris Hansen: We have a show called "To Catch a Predator."
Todd Lewis: Right.
Chris Hansen: And you're on it right now.
Todd Lewis: (Unintelligible) This funny thing is I had a feeling … There's -- something was up.
Chris Hansen: So, you had doubts. You'd been in trouble before. You knew it was wrong. Yet you got on a motorcycle and drove six hours from Pennsylvania to get here to meet a 14-year-old girl anyway.
Todd Lewis: I was coming just for something to do.
Chris Hansen: There was nothing to do with people your own age in Pennsylvania?
Todd Lewis: I'm not allowed to go to bars. You know, stuff like that. That's what everyone my age wants to do.
Chris Hansen: Right. But you're also not allowed to go meet 14-year-old girls for sex, by the way, whether you're on probation or not.
Todd Lewis: Correct. That is a true fact.
Chris Hansen: Well, there's something I need to tell you. And that is I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC and as I mentioned before, we're doing a story about adults who try to meet young teens online for sex.
He gathers up his belongings unaware, as he heads to the door, that his troubles have only just begun. This registered sex offender is about to get arrested again.
(arrest)
Cops: Police! Get down, get down! Down.
And there's one more potential predator we'd like you to meet. That's 37-year-old Kazuo Akutsu knocking on our door.
Female voice: (Knocking) Hey.
Kazuo Akutsu: Hey. How are you?
Female voice: I'm glad you made it.
Kazuo Akutsu: Yeah, I know.
He's been chatting online for more than a week with a decoy posing as a 14-year-old. Using the screen name “kaz4541” he asks the girl about having sex on the beach then says he's not into that -- he wants a nice comfortable bed. He also has a birthday wish: to have sex with the decoy.
Female voice: Do you want some brownies?
Kazuo Akutsu: None for now.
Decoy: He smelled like he was smoking in the car beforehand, and -- hadn't showered in a couple of days.
Female voice: You didn't bring me any chocolate?
Kazuo Akutsu: No. You know why?
Female voice: Why?
Kazuo Akutsu: Because -- (coughing) I didn't want her to find it.
Female voice: What do you mean?
Kazuo Akutsu: You know, the wrapping and everything.
Female voice: I would've thrown it away.
Chris Hansen: So, explain again why no chocolates?
Kazuo Akutsu: I just didn't bring it.
Chris Hansen: So, what's your plan here tonight?
Kazuo Akutsu: Well, I was gonna just see her.
He admits "her" is a 14-year-old girl named Sandy who he met online. He says he's 37 and works for a major department store in New York City.
Chris Hansen: So, you just decided today after work that you were going to jump in the car to meet a 14-year-old girl named Sandy.
Kazuo Akutsu: Yeah, that's it. (laughter)
Chris Hansen: That's it?
Kazuo Akutsu: That's it.
Chris Hansen: You thought it was appropriate at the age of 37 to come meet a 14-year-old. Why? Explain it to me.
Kazuo Akutsu: I didn't think it was app-- appropriate but--
Chris Hansen: Your chat was pretty darn explicit with her.
Kazuo Akutsu: Yeah.
Chris Hansen: And you acknowledge in the chat that age thing could be a problem. "Sandy, I am more than twice your age."
Kazuo Akutsu: Uh-huh (affirm). I know what I did. What am I going to do now?
Then kaz4541 says he's feeling ill.
Chris Hansen: You talk about her having a hard time enjoying sex, because she's a virgin and that it might hurt.
Kazuo Akutsu: Right. (Whispers) Can I please go to the bathroom, please?
Chris Hansen: You can go if you'd like to but I -- I think I need to tell you something first. And that's I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And we're doing a story on adults who try to meet kids online for sex. Now, if there's anything else you want to say, we'd like to hear it. If not, you can obviously walk out the door you came in.
(noise)
(off-mic conversation after Kazuo Akutsu faints)
We call for an EMT, who comes in and examines him. It turns out to be nothing serious.
Male voice: Yeah, he's clammy. He's definitely-- come on, let's get up to your feet. Let me see your head. You're alright?
He's escorted out of the house and is later arrested. Lt. Nevil says he recovered pretty quickly.
Mike Nevil: Brought him back to the police department. Had a medic at the police department that monitored his blood pressure and heart rate and pulse. Or-- and pretty much was cleared to go back to the jail.
Later he goes before a judge and his bail is set.
Judge: Your bail is set at $50,000. There's no 10 percent eligibility.
As the operation wraps up, there are a total of 28 men who've been arrested and charged with a felony. So far two have been indicted. Most of the men have not had a chance to make a plea. All the others have pleaded not guilty.
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