Child Predators Are Everywhere

Child predators are not caught only in small rural towns on the Dateline series “To Catch a Predator”; they are also caught here in Rhode Island. It may be scary to think that these people are so close, but it’s true. 39-year-old Timothy J. Sheldon was an assistant principle at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, R.I. In November of 2004 he solicited a person in a chat room who he believed was a 14-year-old boy, but was really a member of Perverted Justice.

Perverted Justice was setup in 2002 as a watchdog agency that works with law enforcement agencies. Its volunteers carry out sting operations by posing as minors waiting for older men to approach them in chat rooms. As of May 1st, their operations have led to 179 convictions. Perverted Justice posted the conversation on their Web site and notified the Warwick Police Department, where he lived, and Rhode Island State Police. Based on the transcript alone, they had enough evidence to track him down. Sheldon moved to Massachusetts in an attempt to escape authorities, but was caught in December of 2004 and handed over to Rhode Island authorities. The hard drive from the computer that he used to chat has yet to be found.

On February 9th of 2005, he was the first person to be charged with 2 counts of Indecent Solicitation of a Child (§11-37-8.8), which became an RI State law in August of 2004. He plead no contest to one count and under the terms of a plea agreement, the State dismissed the other count of indecent solicitation. He was sentenced to 5 years probation, forced to surrender his R.I. teaching certificate, and is not allowed to use the Internet. He cannot be employed in a job in which he has contact with children under the age of 18, and had to complete sex offender counseling and treatment.

Click here to visit the Perverted Justice Web site