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Internet Sting Leads To State Patrolman's Arrest

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Jul 26, 2008 8:23 am US/Mountain

Internet Sting Leads To State Patrolman's Arrest

Reporting
Shaun Boyd
FORT LUPTON, Colo. (CBS4) ― Police say a trooper with the Colorado State Patrol tried to convince what he thought was a girl on the Internet to have a sexual relationship with him.

The person he thought was a girl was actually a Fort Lupton police detective posing a 14-year-old.

Detective Crystal Schwartz set up accounts on MySpace.com and Yahoo! Chat in which she posed as a girl who liked cheerleading and volleyball.

Schwartz said trooper Justin Tolman, 22, began communicating with her decoy profile soon afterwards. He allegedly indicated he was interested in sex and made graphic sexual statements and sent lewd photos.

Tolman also allegedly sent a picture of himself in uniform standing next to his patrol vehicle. He was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of sexual exploitation of a child.

Tolman, of Colorado Springs, has been a trooper since July of last year. He is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Sgt. John Hahn, a spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol, told the Greeley Tribune Tolman passed an "exhaustive" background check his department conducted on him before he was hired.

Schwartz is the only member of Fort Lupton's Internet crimes unit. Last month her operation spearheaded the arrest of a Transportation and Security Administration employee who works at Denver International Airport. Stanley Gantt, 52, who also now faces sexual exploitation charges, came to Fort Lupton planning to have sex with a 14-year-old.

Schwartz told CBS4 the number of sexual predators who wind up trying to contact her decoy Internet profiles is disturbing.

"They see that I'm 14 and they contact me right away and typically it's sexual content within 5 minutes," she said.

Fort Lupton Police Chief Ron Grannis said the arrests should serve as a wake up call to parents that predators come from all walks of life, and that the Internet is often a stalking ground for sexual predators.

"This gentleman was in position of trust -- wearing a badge -- and I think it's a good thing we've got him off the street now," Grannis said, in reference to Tolman.

Tolman was set to appear in Weld County court Saturday morning.

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