With the constant barrage of drug arrests, criminal cases involving elected officials and a surge in robberies dominating news coverage it’s hard to imagine that there is another item out there that should have the public’s attention. However, Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker said the community – and parents in particular – need to remain vigilant about cybercrimes against children.

 

“I’m in law enforcement so I can see the problem and what you mainly hear as a precaution from time to time is what to do to protect your kids from cybercrimes,” said Walker. “To be honest, it’s a much bigger problem than society realizes. It’s a problem nationwide and it’s certainly a problem here in Bridgeport.”

 

In Bridgeport, the responsibility of tracking those who would do harm to children by way of the Internet is left at the feet of Detective Gary Weaver. Weaver is the department’s representative who works with the West Virginia State Police’s Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) unit.

 

Weaver began his duties working with ICAC almost three years ago. To date, he’s seen more than he cares to see and he’s been involved with more arrests stemming from Bridgeport Police investigation that he ever imagined he would see.

 

“We’ve had individuals attempting to lure children by way of the Internet from as far away as two hours,” said Weaver. “Since we’ve started doing things, probably a little less than three years ago, we’ve had a total of 57 arrests through the end of this past October. There are also cases we worked on that we’ve sent on to other agencies and even other state so the number is higher than that.”

 

Getting those arrests doesn’t come without extra work and Walker said it doesn’t come in most cases during regular working hours.

 

“Gary doesn’t spend a huge amount of time during the regular work day because you can’t work these cases during an eight-hour work day. Gary ends up working day and night,” said Walker. “If a suspect contacts Gary and he’s at home watching television then he responds. That’s what he’s taken as a responsibility.”

 

“The sad part is that if we decided to put Gary into a situation where he did nothing but ICAC investigations then he would need a full-time administrative assistant to keep up with the paperwork,” Walker continued. “It’s a huge problem that’s at an epidemic stage. It’s just not good.”

 

While children often fall victim to the drug game, adults are the primary abusers, victims and perpetrators there. Under the ICAC program, juveniles are the only victims. Because of that, Walker said that Weaver and others involved stay aggressive in order to eliminate those that would harm children.

 

“Folks ask us why we seek these individuals out and there’s a simple answer. These people are contacting someone they believe is an underage person, a kid, in the City of Bridgeport for immoral purposes,” said Walker. “I don’t think any of us want those people going unchecked.”

 

Weaver, who is a father and also a grandfather, said it’s a bit personal to him as well. He said he has family members that are in the age range of those that are often targeted by on-line predators.

 

“A big part of it is that I have nieces and nephews, when I first started doing this, that was right around that age that the predators target,” Weaver said. “I asked myself what the potential was for it happening here and was it happening here and could it be a problem. I found out quickly it’s a problem and even in a small community like Bridgeport we have this issue. To me it’s professional and personal.”

 

It’s also disgusting in what he has to deal with. Although Weaver couldn’t divulge everything that comes his way from a person on the other end of the internet who believes he is a juvenile, he said everything from naked photos to Web cam performances have come his way.

 

“To realize that this stuff does happen and that it’s a threat to our kids should keep everyone vigilant,” said Weaver. “You see the stuff I see or you are investigating an individual that ends up kidnapping and raping and 11-year-old and it makes you want to get as many people as possible.

 

“I kind of have come to grips that I won’t be able to stop it, but I can help in making kids and their parents become aware that there are dangers out there and I can occasionally get an arrest of someone looking to do harm,” Weaver continued. “This isn’t fun and games and there is no profile of who would do harm to children.”

 

A case in point may be the Oct. 3 arrest of 44-year-old Daniel McGarvey. McGarvey was out of Uniontown, Pa., was employed and – unfortunately – was an educator in that county’s school system.

 

“It can be anyone and that’s why you have to be proactive with this,” said Walker. “The best case would to see Gary not have to spend so much time on this, which would mean that there aren’t as many people out there that you have to worry about.”

 

However, that isn’t the case. Because of that Weaver’s “extra duties” often become daunting. Fortunately, he said he gets plenty of help from the rest of the staff when things get serious.

 

“From Chief Walker to Deputy Chief (Randy) Hartley, the guys in investigation and the rest of the staff, they work with me as hard as they can to help out,” said Weaver. “It’s not just me, which is a good thing. The bad thing is that it’s enough of a problem that you have to have help.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo is of Chief John Walker, while Detective Gary Weaver is shown in the middle photo. Bottom photo is from the October arrest of a Uniontown teacher through the efforts of Weaver and ICAC.