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ROY -- Police in Roy say the parents of an out-of-state girl helped them track down a man accused of exchanging dozens of pornographic images and videos with the 16-year-old girl on the Internet.
James Peter Crudele, 48, was booked into jail on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham says Crudele's arrest culminated a months-long investigation that started after the parents of a 16-year-old Washington State girl found nude photos on her cell phone.
But the parents did more than that. They also used a reverse look-up search engine to find a possible address for Crudele from a telephone number they found on the girl's telephone.
"The parents' involvement, I think, was in this case crucial, because we know that they were talking about arranging a meeting," Whinham said.
He continued, "In this case, unlike some that are tragic, we have parents who were able to avert actual contact with a person who was a predator on the Internet."
Police say Crudele has admitted to knowing the victim was only 16. They also say they found dozens of images and videos on his cell phone and on a laptop computer, but so far they are unable to tell how old those women are.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
