HARRISBURG – A Berks County man, who used an Internet chat room to sexually proposition what he believed was a 14-year old girl, sent nude videos to the girl and traveled to Harrisburg expecting to meet her for sex was arrested by agents from the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit. The “girl” was actually an undercover agent from the Child Predator Unit using the online profile of a child.
Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendant as David Kopicz, 31, 267 Greenwich St., Kutztown.
Corbett said that Kopicz first made contact with an undercover agent, using the profile of a 14-year old girl in May 2008, using the screen name “dave_pa2009.” During the initial conversation, Kopicz allegedly asked the girl if she had a boyfriend, any pictures and if she had “boobs.”
According to the criminal complaint, Kopicz contacted the child several times following the initial exchange and on June 3, 2008 sent her an invitation to be friends on MySpace and allegedly discussed wanting to meet. Kopicz allegedly told the girl that he wanted to touch her, try performing sexual intercourse and receive oral intercourse.
The charges state that Kopicz contacted the girl the following day and asked her again for a picture and told her that when they meet “he would bring and wear condoms.”
Corbett said that Kopicz allegedly expressed concern about getting caught, at one point telling the child “well if word of us getting together got to someones mom they would call the police, and then I would most likely be in jail.”
According to the criminal complaint Kopicz continued to contact the girl throughout the summer and fall of 2008 and expressed a desire to meet for sex and began sending the girl sexual videos, which contained adult and child pornography.
Corbett said that Kopicz sent a total of 17 videos to the girl, all of which contained sexually graphic content of either adults or children engaged in sex.
Kopicz was arrested on Dec. 30, 2008 in Swatara Township, Dauphin County.
Corbett said that agents also executed a search warrant at Kopicz’s residence, assisted by Kutztown Police, seizing three computers. Those items will be analyzed by the Attorney General’s Computer Forensics Unit as part of an ongoing investigation.
Kopicz is charged with 10 counts of unlawful contact with a minor (including sending one child pornography video to a minor) and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
Kopicz was preliminarily arraigned before Harrisburg Magisterial District Judge Michael Smith and placed in Dauphin County Prison in lieu of $99,000 bail.
Corbett thanked the Swatara Township Police Department and the Kutztown Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.
The case will be prosecuted in Dauphin County by Deputy Attorney General Mike Sprow of the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit.
Internet Dangers
Corbett said that since the creation of the Child Predator Unit in January 2005, agents have arrested 181 Internet predators from across Pennsylvania and several other states, including 70 arrests so far this year – more than any other previous year.
Corbett cautioned parents and children to be alert for strangers, posing as online friends, who sexually proposition them, send explicit photos or videos or try to arrange face-to-face meetings. He encouraged parents to discuss Internet safety with their children, including the danger of meeting strangers who approach them online, and actively monitor their kids’ online activities.
“Predators know that kids become more active online as the weather turns colder and the days grow shorter, and they also know that more young people are home unsupervised, either before or after school,” Corbett said. “Time and distance mean nothing to Internet predators because computer technology allows them to reach across the street, or across the country, to ‘groom’ young victims for sexual meetings or to flood their computers with sexually graphic photos and videos.”
Suspected Internet predators can be reported to the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit by using the “report a predator” link, located on the front page of the Attorney General’s website, at www.attorneygeneral.gov, or by calling the Child Predator Hotline, at 1-800-385-1044.
Internet safety tips and other information are available in the “Operation Safe Surf” and “Just for Kids” sections of the Attorney General’s website. Organizations interested in materials, speakers or presentations, contact the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Office at 1-800-525-7642 or via email at education@attorneygeneral.gov