Fake child I.D. does not foil police

The Jolly Rancha is foiled! 

Dewey Nelson likes 'em young.  Well maybe he is not after our five and six year olds.  He is just as dangerous, preying upon 15 year olds. 

Dewey met his demise after meeting a girl on Myspace.  Apparently the two had on-line sex and decided they just had to meet in person.  The Jolly Rancha rented a car and drove from Hillsville, Va. to Livingston Texas to pick his little pretty up. 

The two returned to Dewey's apartment in Hillsville where the run-away stayed with Dewey for two weeks.  During her vacation in Dewey's apartment the child engaged in sexual intercourse with senor Nelson and also had oral sex, according to testimony.

"He thought oral sex was having sex on the telephone" 

Dewey later said of his confession, he thought oral sex was having sex on the telephone.  Likely, his statement was an effort to avoid confessions he made to police, but dumber people have been born.  Perhaps he was serious.

Somewhere towards the end of the two week love affair Dewey had one of those, boy-am-I-in-trouble moments.  He said he discovered the new girl in his life was not 19 as he claimed she said she was.  She was 15!  It is just as likely the two had a fight and Dewey wanted to get rid of the problem he had caused for himself.  No information suggests this, but it may have happened that way.  No matter the motive, what does a 39 year old do when he decides to return the child he has been molesting to her parents?

"Dewey played innocent after stealing the innocence of a young girl"

The truth, or a version of the truth, is usually the best way.  The family was notified, Dewey played innocent after stealing the innocence of a young girl.  Mom came to Hillsvalle to take her daughter home and end the relationship with this strange man.

Child molesters are not always the brightest people.  Dewey continued his relationship with the 15 year old.  One would think, after having dodged a bullet, Dewey Nelson would have avoided the child like the plague.  He should have been charged after his two week jaunt and was not.  Best to let well enough alone.  Not Dewey.

Nelson eventually convinced the 15 year old running away from home is what young people do. He again rented a car and headed out onto the road to pick the girl up again.  What was in the 39 year old's mind as he raced across country to Augusta, Kansas, where the family had moved?  Dewey picked the youth up and they were soon back in Dewey's apartment in Hillsvalle.

"The young looking girl living with him was his 13 year old daughter, he said"

Of course, the child was reported missing.  One of the first places to look was the strange guy who had taken the girl earlier in the year.  Nelson was prepared for that.  He had a false ID made for the young girl which he presented to police when they came knocking on the door.  The young looking girl living with him was his 13 year old daughter, he said.  He must have figured, if they would buy the phone sex is what is meant by oral sex, then the police would be duped by a fake I.D.  It didn't take long to determine the ID was a fake.  Dewey got the silver bracelets and the wayward youth got a free trip home.

Dewey pled guilty last November to two federal charges of traveling across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity, and two charges of transporting a child across state lines to engage in sexual activity. Dewey probably figured he was going to be convicted at trial anyway.  The guilty plea would save the court time and increase Dewey's chances of a favorable sentence. 

As it turns out, the girl he met on Myspace was not the first youth he had sexually abused.  Dewey had been married and divorced twice.  In each case, he started his relationships with his wives before they were of legal age.  He got one of his wives pregnant while she was underage.

Why should we be surprised.  Dewey was also sexually abused when he was 7, a thread many child sexual abusers have in common.  Someone stole their youth and having learned the lesson well, they return the favor.  The chain of sexual abuse continues through the generations.

"The judge said society required additional protection"

When sentencing day rolled around the Judge gave Dewey a few more years than the minimum so he could contemplate his actions while living with other dangerous criminals.  U.S. District Judge Glen Conrad said he was sentencing Nelson above the mandatory minimum of 10 years because society required additional protection.

Dewey got lucky.  Extra protection for society turns out to be 3 years.  It could have been a lot worse.

"You're not the only one who has had adverse circumstances to deal with ... you just didn't react well," Conrad told Nelson. "You committed questionable acts across your adult life"

A statement from the prosecuting attorney: 

“Sexual predators like Dewey Nelson target the most vulnerable among us—our children,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “Mr. Nelson enticed a minor child to travel halfway across the country so that he could fulfill his deviant sexual desire. His subsequent attempts to cover up his crime failed, and he was brought to justice by the dedicated law enforcement team who conducted this investigation. This case shows that investigators are watching, monitoring, and moving swiftly to apprehend the criminals who lurk on the internet and target children. These cases are a priority for the United States Attorney’s Office, and we will continue to seek justice for the victims of these terrible crimes.”

Project Safe Childhood was involved in the apprehension and arrest of Dewey Nelson.  The project combats child sexual exploitation and child abuse.  It was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and is Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). 

Dewey Nelson faced charges of traveling across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity, and two charges of transporting a child across state lines to engage in sexual activity as a result of the hard work of Project Safe Childhood.  Judge Glen Conrad let Dewey Nelson off easy.  I suspect United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy would have preferred a longer term of "protection" for the the public.  The Jolly Rancha has been foiled!