VALE – Online, she appeared as Amanda, a 14-year-old from Boise willing to have sex with men.
But when a Vale man showed up a Boise house recently, he was met not by a teenaged girl but by police running a sting operation.
Daniel “Wayne” DeLong, 44, was arrested on Aug. 19 and subsequently charged in Boise U.S. District Court with attempted coercion of a minor. He was among seven other men who were swept up in a multi-agency police operation Aug. 18 and Aug. 19.
He faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison if convicted.
The federal criminal complaint obtained by the Enterprise illustrates the details of a case where Boise police used an undercover community safety specialist to pose as a teenager on the dating application Skout. As part of the ruse, she published a fake profile and posted a photo that depicted a “young looking female,” the complaint said.
She was contacted online by someone under the user name “coach.”
“You are adorable young lady,” wrote the man, who moved their conversations to the messaging application, What’s App.
“During the What’s App message, the suspect was informed Amanda was 14-years-old. After being informed of Amanda’s age, the suspect discussed having sexual contact with Amanda, which included his desire to perform oral sex (on) her, her performing oral sex on him,” the criminal complaint said.
The complaint included what were described as messages where the man discussed other potential sexual encounters on a raft trip and elsewhere.
The complaint asserts the man sent Amanda explicit photos of himself and images of “adults engaging in sexual contact.”
The complaint included text messages about meeting to go to a movie and engaging in sexual contact there. The man then arranged to drive from Vale to what he thought was her Boise home. He messaged when he got off work and that it would take an hour to get to her home.
After his arrest, DeLong admitted to “engaging in various sexually explicit conversations with Amanda,” and “fantasies about the two engaging in sexual intercourse,” the complaint said.
Along with the Boise police, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, the federal Department of Homeland Security, the Idaho U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Ada County Prosecutors Office participated in the investigation.
DeLong participated in a detention hearing Friday, Aug. 25 and was scheduled to be released Monday, Aug. 28, after Idaho Parole and Probation authorities visited his home and a location monitoring device is placed on De Long. His next court appearance has not been scheduled. De Long’s release is contingent upon a list of factors, including being restricted to his home, or owning any device that gives him access the internet and he is to have no contact with any minor unless it is approved by federal pretrial services in Boise.
Dave Goldthorpe, Malheur County district attorney, said similar cases are “much more common than people think.”
“As a parent, it reminds you of the need to be knowledgeable about security when it comes to your kid’s online activity,” said Goldthorpe, whose office was not involved in DeLong’s case.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected].
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