A man who lives close to both Chantilly High and Greenbriar West Elementary has been arrested and charged with soliciting sex from a minor over the Internet. He is Michael A. Proseus, 54, Chantilly.
In a Jan. 6 affidavit for a warrant to search his home for possible evidence against him, Fairfax County police Det. Lewis Barrickman of the Child Exploitation Unit detailed the case against Proseus.
He wrote that, while working undercover online, on Feb. 12, 2004, he was contacted via instant message (IM) by someone using the screen name "Wwnsong4u" and identifying himself as an older male from Northern Virginia. "I informed him that I was a 13-year-old female from Centreville, Va.," wrote Barrickman.
THE DETECTIVE stated that their instant-message conversations continued until Jan. 6, 2005, and that the man said his name was Mike. He wrote that Mike also sent him several e-mail photos that he said were of himself.
"During the conversations, the suspect solicited the 13-year-old female to meet him," wrote Barrickman. "He also stated that, during the meeting, he wanted the [girl] to masturbate while he watched, and [he] further stated he wanted to perform oral sodomy on her. The suspect stated that, after [he did so], she would be willing to have sexual intercourse with him."
"The [teen] responded by saying she didn't wish to get pregnant," continued the detective. "The suspect stated that he didn't like rubbers, but she didn't have to worry." Then on Nov. 23, Det. Lee Cyr of the police department in Fairborn, Ohio, contacted Barrickman.
"He stated that he had been working undercover online, posing as a young female," explained Barrickman. "He stated that a subject using the screen name 'Wwnsong4u' had been chatting online with him and had sent him several pictures of child pornography. Det. Cyr stated that he sent a court order to AOL [regarding] the master account owner. AOL notified him that the subject's name was [allegedly] Michael Proseus of ... Chantilly, Va."
BARRICKMAN WROTE that, on Jan. 4, he and the suspect set up a meeting via IM for Jan. 6 at a Centreville shopping center. "They would then travel via his vehicle to a yet-to-be-determined location," wrote the detective. "The female would then pose nude for the suspect to take digital pictures. She would then be expected to masturbate in front of the suspect. He would then perform oral sodomy on her, which he believed would lead to sexual intercourse."
Instead, when Proseus reportedly arrived for their 10 a.m. meeting, last Thursday, Jan. 6, he was greeted by police and taken into custody. "During a search of his person, a condom was located in his front shirt pocket," wrote Barrickman. "Proseus [allegedly] informed detectives that he was the person talking to the minor and had solicited several sexual acts from her. He also [allegedly] stated he had discussed taking nude photographs of [her]. Proseus [reportedly] went on to state that he had images of child pornography on his home computer."
Four hours later, Barrickman executed the search warrant at Proseus' home. Police seized a Dell computer and a camera docking stand. After being charged with using a communications system to facilitate certain offenses involving children, Proseus was released from jail Friday, Jan. 7, on $10,000 bond. He has a Feb. 15 court date.