Predators Still Lurking on the Internet

By GABE WELLS Staff Writer


WHEELING — The Ohio Valley has been described as a safe place to raise children, but the Internet has given sex-offenders like David M. Rhodes the ability to target local youngsters from outside this area. Local law enforcement agencies, however, don’t have the manpower to police those targeting local children through the use of their computer.

Rhodes’ case is likely this area’s most glaring example of the dangers local children face in their use of the Internet. The 45-year-old Evans, W.Va., man was scheduled to appear July 19 in Belmont County Juvenile Court for a bond revocation hearing stemming from his relationship with a 16-year-old Bridgeport girl he met via the Internet. Rhodes did not show up for that hearing, and he remains at large.

Rhodes was arrested in February just outside of Ripley, W.Va., where he was found with the Bridgeport girl who was reported missing a week earlier. After being released on bond following his initial arrest, Rhodes returned to this area just weeks later, and he admitted to driving to Bridgeport to have sex with the girl. He told Bridgeport Police Chief Steve Studenc he was “fascinated” with her. He told the chief he suffered from a “sickness.”

Rhodes was kept in the Belmont County Jail until he was convicted and sentenced on two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was released and told to report to jail on April 19. He didn’t report to serve his sentence.

Rhodes left the area, but he was caught in Kentucky and sent to West Virginia to face charges of failing to register as a convicted sex offender in the Mountain State. He’s now at large after West Virginia officials released him despite a Belmont County warrant for his arrest. Studenc said Rhodes will spend a year behind bars for his involvement with the Bridgeport girl once he’s caught.

Despite the apparent Internet dangers to children of this area, Ohio County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Joe Cuchta said his unit simply does not have the resources to designate a deputy to monitor the Internet for sexual predators. He said, within the past two years, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Wheeling man for targeting children for sex via the Internet, but such cases are not common. He said such investigations begin with a complaint.

“We don’t have the manpower to dedicate someone to doing that,” Cuchta said. “If we get a complaint, we work it. They (Internet complaints) are fairly common, but they involve different complaints. Complaints of threats and fraud are the most common.

“We don’t usually hear about those,” Cuchta said in regarding to complaints of children targeted for sex. “We have done a few. Unless someone comes in to make a complaint, we don’t hear about them. If the guys in our department hear something, we will get involved that way.”

Ryan Allar is the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department detective for sex crimes and domestic violence. He said he would like to have an officer available to police the Internet, but, like the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, there is not sufficient manpower. Allar said, although complaints of children targeted are not regularly received by his department, it does not mean it isn’t happening.

“It happens every day, I would assume,” Allar said in reference to area children sexually targeted online. “That’s based on how often kids are on the Internet today.”

Allar said he has little experience targeting Internet predators.

“We have attempted a couple stings where they (children) were talking to adults,” Allar said. “I have dabbled in it, but I can’t say I have seriously done anything. I haven’t received any training on, so I really haven’t.”