Russellville man arrested following Internet sting
The Mayflower Police Department conducted a sting resulting in the arrest of a 25-year-old Russellville man Wednesday night for allegedly soliciting sex from a minor.
Joshua Dawson, student at Arkansas Tech University was charged with Internet stalking of a child.
According to a release from the MPD, Dawson was taken into custody when he arrived at what was to be a meeting place to engage in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl.
Contact was made with Dawson through chat, who believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old female from Mayflower.
“During the chat, the subject exposed himself using a web cam and offered sex. After about an hour of chat the subject left his residence,” the release states. According to Investigator Chuck Barker with the MPD, Dawson was found to have in his possession condoms purchased from Walmart en route to the meeting place, along with printed directions to Mayflower.
Dawson is being held at Faulkner County Unit 2. His bond is yet to be determined.
Barker said he expects the Mayflower Police Department to conduct more of these arrests.
“There’s obviously a huge need for law enforcement to be on the Internet policing these issues. We feel like it’s important to address this issue. For every one of them that is taken off the street, there’s no telling how many juveniles will have been protected,” Barker said.
Barker said this is his 44th arrest of an Internet predator.
(Staff writer Courtney Spradlin can be reached by e-mail at courtney.spradlin@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
Comments (19)
Add commentLuv the Shirt!
SHOCKING . . .With a lame shirt like that no wonder he can't get a legal woman to have sex with him. How old is the internet predator sting? I can't believe people are still trying to hook up with young girl via the internet. How many people have to be arrested for people to get message? Such a perv!
I wonder if he put it on just for his "date"...
Makes a great image of a loser though, doesn't it?
perfect shirt
This is the perfect shirt to get arrested in! Especially if you are a sexual predator. What an idiot!
It takes all kinds to make the world go around
Kudos to the Mayflower Police Dept. They finally got something right for a change. Keep up the good work
Wow
... just wow. How revolting.
Directions?
This idiot needed to print out directions to get from Russellville to Mayflower? Sheesh!!!
Huge need?
Wait a minute
"“There’s obviously a huge need for law enforcement to be on the Internet policing these issues. We feel like it’s important to address this issue. For every one of them that is taken off the street, there’s no telling how many juveniles will have been protected,” Barker said."
How much of this goes on in the absence of law enforcement stings?
Plus I'd really like to see the transcript of the conversation, as the whole "sting" thing leaves one to wonder: ie. Did the guy think he was in a chatroom with someone pretending to be 13? (As has happened in similar cases.) How much enticement? Is it possible he missed the whole "13" thing?
I'm a little disappointed that statement was taken at face value. Yeah, sure, child predators need to be put in jail, no problem with that, but do we, in fact, have a child predator? No offense against anybody, but the Mayflower PD needs to dedicate its energy to finding Arkansas child predators?
I'm thinking someone was too lazy to go out and write speeding tickets in the rain and went quota filling in AOL chatrooms.
"Huge need?" How many people are the state police rounding up for this? Is Mayflower outpacing the State Police?
Lots of oddness here.
I'd be interested in knowing
I'd be interested in knowing the procedure for catching these guys....does the cop initiate the chat session, or do they hang out in a chat room and wait to be approached?
No doubt the guys initiating contact and pursuing underage girls need to be locked under the jail, I'm just curious to know how they start one of these stings...could leave quite a loophole for defense if they aren't careful.
Oh yeah, and love the shirt...what a moron!
First of all, I am Joshua's
First of all, I am Joshua's sister. I just love how everything about my brother's outstanding almost four year deployment in Iraq is left out of this report. How he is a two-time veteran. How he received two purple hearts from injuries while over-seas. For all the people that posted such hurtful things: shame on you. My brother is a very good person who has obviously, through a series of bad choices, has found himself in this awful predicament Also, we have read the official report on this matter and the facts are WAY distorted. He started out talking to what he believed was a thirty-five year old woman. Even in the police report it states the girl finally told him she was FIFTEEN NOT THIRTEEN. Not that it makes it any better, but if you are going to post a report on someone on the internet get your damn facts straight! And no where in the report does it say he sent a picture of himself via web camera. I have my doubts on the whole legitimacy of this so called "sting". After spending almost SEVEN hours at the Faulkner County Detention center, I think it is very clear they are desperate need of more funding. For such a small county, and this being Barker's fourty-fourth sting...plus, after all done everyone gets a peice of the pie: Impound and towing is paid, bondsman is paid, ankle bracelet is paid, court is paid, lawyer, etc. No doubt he will be out at least five grand for this somewhat shady sting. I have a daughter and I'm sure there is drastic need for law enforcement when it comes to internet stalking of children. My daughter adores her "uncle Josh". It is sad our whole family has to deal with this now especially for my brother. He is NOT a child predator.
15 not 13?
You say he is not a child predator, but you just admitted that "the girl finally told him she was FIFTEEN NOT THIRTEEN". A 15 year old is still considered to be a child.