Counter Pedophilia Investigate Unit

CANONSBURG – Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced that agents from the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit have arrested a Lawrence County man accused of using the Internet to sexually proposition 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 Leroy Maloni, 69, 3511 State Route 208, Apt. 4, New Wilmington.

Corbett said that Maloni allegedly used an Internet chat room to approach an undercover agent on May 14, 2008, asking her detailed questions about her physical appearance, her manner of schooling and what she liked to do for “fun.”

Corbett said that Maloni allegedly continued to contact the girl online, eventually escalating the tone of the conversations and repeatedly expressing his desire to meet her for sex.

According to the criminal complaint, Maloni made arrangements to meet with the child at a place to be determined in Canonsburg on June 17, 2008 at around 10:00 am.

On June 17, at about 9:45 am, Maloni arrived at the pre-arranged meeting location driving a Dodge 4×4 pickup truck identical to the one that he had described to the child during their online conversations.

Maloni was arrested there in Canonsburg by agents from the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit, assisted by the Canonsburg Police Department.

Maloni is charged with one count of attempt of unlawful contact with a minor, one count of unlawful contact with a minor and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.

Maloni was preliminarily arraigned before Washington County Magisterial District Judge David Mark and is being held in lieu of $50,000 straight bail. Maloni 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 24.

Summer Danger – “Operation Summer Surf”

Corbett said that the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit has arrested 147 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 website: www.attorneygeneral.gov. (Click on the “Report an Internet Predator” link, located on the front page of the website)

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 website. (Click on the “Kids, Parents & Schools” link at the top of the front page)