LANSING - Attorney General Mike Cox today announced the results of an undercover Internet child predator sting that led to the arrests of a Macomb County ambulance worker, a Hillsdale County pizza delivery driver and a third man in Lenawee County.
Ambulance worker Joseph Michael Peraino, 25, of Wales, pizza delivery driver Wayne Kenneth Love, Jr., 38, of Jerome and Eugene Howard Cole, Sr, 66, of Tecumseh were arrested this week and are accused of separately using the Internet to solicit minors for sex after making advances in online chats towards who they thought were 13 and 14-year-old girls. The men were actually chatting with investigators from the Attorney General’s office and the volunteer organization Perverted Justice.
“This is one more shocking reminder for parents that predators are using the Internet to target our children,” said Cox.
Peraino was arraigned today in the 72nd District Court before Magistrate Stephen T. Thomas, on five counts of using the internet to commit child sexually abusive activity, a 20 year felony, and three counts of using a computer / Internet to disseminate sexually explicit matter to a minor, a four-year felony and / or $5,000 fine .
Bond was set at $70,000 and Peraino is next scheduled to be in court for a Preliminary Examination on December 8.
Love was arraigned in Hillsdale in 2B District Court before Judge Donald L. Sanderson, on two counts of using the internet to commit child sexually abusive activity and one count of using a computer / Internet to disseminate sexually explicit matter to a minor.
Judge Sanderson set bond at $60,000. Love is next scheduled in court for a Preliminary Examination on December 2.
Cole was arraigned in Tecumseh District Court before Judge Natalia Koselka, on seven counts of using the internet to commit child sexually abusive activity and three counts of using a computer / Internet to disseminate sexually explicit matter to a minor .
The Judge set bond at $10,000 for each count. Cole is next scheduled in court for a Preliminary Exam on December 7.
Using the screen names “ virgin18yearold ,” “ wl72971,” and “dukered2000,” the defendants engaged in multiple sexually explicit chats and solicited undercover agents posing as 13 and 14-year-old girls. Working together, the Attorney General’s office and Perverted Justice identified the defendants and arrested them at their homes.
To date, the Attorney General and his Child and Public Protection Unit have arrested 252 Internet sex predators. An August 2009 sting in Livingston County yielded nine arrests while 21 predators were arrested during an October 2008 sting in Grand Rapids.
Parents are encouraged to check their children’s “buddy lists” for the screen names “ virgin18yearold ,” “ wl72971,” and “dukered2000 .” If they believe their child was approached online by Peraino, Love or Cole, or to report other suspected Internet sex predators, parents should contact the Attorney General’s office at (313) 456-0180. Parents and schools may also contact the Attorney General’s office for information on our award-winning educational program, the Michigan Cyber Safety Initiative (Michigan CSI), which has been taught to more than 400,000 Michigan children.
For more information on how to protect your child from Internet predators visit www.Michigan.gov/csi.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
