Two arrests made in Charlevoix County sting operation involving child sexual abuse
CHARLEVOIX — Two Charlevoix County men were arrested for child sexual abuse activity in a recent sting operation led by the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Department.
Jeff Skeel, 53, of Charlevoix and James Kaczmarek, 33, of Boyne Falls were both arrested for communicating with and arranging a meeting for the purposes of sexual activity with a law enforcement officer posing as a 15-year-old girl.
Sergeants with Genesee County assisted in both undercover operations.
In the first incident, the sergeant posed as a girl in a Charlevoix hotel and was in contact with Skeel on May 16 through a website called skipthegames.com, according to a probable cause affidavit. This website is “well known to be frequented by prostitutes and individuals seeking prostitutes."
The text message conversation between the officer's cell number and the cell number belonging to Skeel was highlighted in the affidavit and detailed Skeel asking about “rates” and oral sex. The messages also describe a photograph “depicting a young female” was sent to Skeel’s cell number. Additional text messages reflect that after being told the alleged girl’s age, the individual using the phone asked “are you downtown” and then about hotels she may be at and then wrote “Thanks for being honest about your age.”
Oral sex was agreed upon between the two parties for $100. In the affidavit, written by Charlevoix Detective Cody Wheat, it was reported that Skeel was arrested on May 16 when he knocked on the door of the hotel room number that had been given by the undercover officer.
After his arrest, Skeel admitted it was him sending the text messages and that he was aware of the alleged “girl’s age.” Two $50 bills were collected from Skeel’s person.
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Kaczmarek was arrested on May 25 after being in contact with another Genesee County sergeant, who posed as a 15-year-old girl through an internet application called Kik. According to the probable cause affidavit, Kik is an “application that permits the interaction of individuals through the internet and computer programming.”
Communication between the two parties continued via text messages, in which a photograph of Kaczmarek's face and genitals was exchanged in addition to talk of sexual intercourse. He also tried to solicit a photograph of the girl. A meeting was arranged in which Kaczmarek did not show up. Upon being interviewed by Wheat, Kaczmarek admitted to the communication with the alleged “15-year-old girl” but said that he was only “playing games” and “having fun” and did not plan to meet up with her.
Skeel’s bond was posted with the Charlevoix County District Court on May 19 for $30,000 and Kaczmarek's bond was posted with the court on May 25 for $25,000.
Skeel was charged with one felony count of child sexually abusive activity with a maximum sentence up to 20 years in prison, one felony count of using computers or the internet to commit a crime with a maximum sentence of up to 20 years and one felony count of attempted criminal sexual conduct in the third degree with a maximum sentence of five years.
Kaczmarek was charged with one felony count of child sexually abusive activity with a maximum sentence of seven years, one count of using a computer or the internet to commit a crime with a maximum sentence up to 10 years and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes with a maximum sentence up to four years.
Charlevoix County Sheriff Chuck Vondra said of the two arrests, ”We are focusing on the most vulnerable in our society to ensure that everyone is safe in Charlevoix County but especially our most vulnerable citizens. We should proactively go out and do things to make sure they are safe and that is what we do."
— Contact reporter Annie Doyle at (231)675-0099 or adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com. Follow her on Twitter, @adoylenews.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Two arrests made in Charlevoix County sting operation involving child sexual abuse
