Behind the scenes of an Internet predator sting in Hawthorne

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Dateline's Too Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen was not on hand at the Hawthorne Police Department in March and April of 2007, but a camera crew from CourtTV was as members of the Souty Bay Internet Task Force staged their own sting to catch their own predators.

It was interesting to see un-edited footage of a local police department in action - complete with their very raw emotions.

Officer Sarah Lewis, who was not yet an officer on March 31, 2007, is seen in Detective Sean Galindo's office making a recorded phone call to the person they only knew as "Johnny" who used the screen name "wecan69." I'm not sure how old Lewis was, but she looked to be in her late teens or early 20s, but sounded like a younger teenager as she fake giggled her way through the conversation. Sun spoke sweetly to her, telling her she was "crazy" for sneaking out and seemingly trying to scope out how real she really was. Lewis was quick with her answers - such as why the phone kept cutting out (the recording device was making it do that). She quickly told him she has a habit of pulling the phone cord and she stretched it out and broke the phone, and her mom always yelled at her for that.

When the conversation was over, her dimpled smile quickly left and she turned serious again. With a shudder and a slight "ewww," they were on their way to a briefing to set up the meeting and stake-out.

Galindo, a veteran officer with expertise in juvenile sex crimes, coordinates the operation at the Green Line Terminal on Marine Avenue from inside an undercover van. You can hear the emotion in his voice as a white car comes speeding at them while they're waiting and they realize it is an MTA security patrol. Knowing that a security patrol could ruin their entire operation, Galindo swears repeatedly and wills the car to leave.

After Sun approaches Lewis and she gives the code, it was just like a police television drama. Cops came running from all over, yelling, "Go! Go! Go!" Moments later, Sun was face down on the ground in handcuffs, surrounded by the officers.

Sun's trial is continuing today and is expected to last until early next week.


1 Comments

You certainly deserve a round of applause for your post and more specifically, your blog in general. Very high quality material

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About the Blogger


Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.

E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Denise Nix published on September 25, 2009 9:10 AM.

PHOTOS: Fire at Wilmington refinery was the previous entry in this blog.

STING: Police issue 150 tickets to drivers who failed to stop for pedestrians in Hawthorne is the next entry in this blog.

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