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Karen Scullin reporting An undercover sting operation has put a man behind bars who was a major threat to children.
This isn't a case of simply trying to solicit sex from a child over the internet. Police say Randy Morris thought he was arranging a sexual encounter with children through their mother.
Police say Randy Morris began his search for victims at the Salt Lake City library. He was in a chat room, and apparently believed he was arranging to have sex with two girls, ages seven and ten, with the help of their mother. But "mom" was actually an undercover police officer and the take-down downtown was quick.
Ken Hansen/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force: This individual made contact concerning the age of the children and what he wanted to do with them."
Morris has a criminal history -- most of it in Wisconsin. He was on the Wisconsin sex offender registry for having sex with a minor. He was banned from numerous libraries for downloading porn and engaging in sexually explicit conversations in internet chat rooms. He also used library phones to randomly call people and make sexually explicit phone calls.
Hansen says his determination in this latest case made him extremely dangerous.
Ken Hansen: “In this situation, I think it was a fairly aggressive case, that he appeared to be targeting a certain age group of child, or a certain gender."
But the alleged twisted mission to arrange child sex through a parent --isn't that unusual. Sometimes it's for cash--- but sometimes it's an avenue for the parent to develop a relationship with the predator himself.
"Ken Hansen: I think it does happen. And I think some parents will develop relationships with men who will eventually sometimes sooner than later will victimize the children."
There have also been a series of incidents at Crossroads Mall where a man has been exposing himself to women. Police say Randy Morris matches the description of the suspect.
