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BY BILL DOLAN
bdolan@nwitimes.com
219.662.5328 | Wednesday, February 02, 2005 | (1 comment(s))
DYER | A recent college athlete from Dyer is facing charges after a volunteer Internet watchdog group alerted the FBI he attempted to meet a 13-year-old Hammond girl for sex, court documents allege.
The U.S. attorney's office disclosed Tuesday it has charged 24-year-old Brandon D. Candiano, a former member of the Chicago State baseball team and son of Highland High School athletics director Dan Candiano.
Neither the Candianos nor their attorney could be reached Tuesday evening for comment.
The government alleges the young man used his computer to access an Internet chat room and seduce another computer user he thought was Kira, a 13-year-old Hammond girl eager to meet and have sex with him.
Kira was in fact an adult volunteer of U.S. Cyberwatch. The 48-minute exchange of e-mails Jan. 9 are the basis of the enticement charge, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted.
The Web site published an alleged transcript of the exchange along with a second e-mail allegedly written to U.S. Cyberwatch by Candiano acknowledging "It is morally wrong, and against my better judgement to do what I did yesterday. Looking for sex from an underage minor is never excusable by any means."
U.S. Cyberwatch forwarded its data to the FBI and a federal grand jury, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court by FBI Special Agent Eric H. Wojtkun.
The defendant -- an Andrean High School graduate whose baseball career took him to Valparaiso University and Wabash before landing at Chicago State -- appeared Tuesday before Magistrate Andrew P. Rodovich. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson asked that Candiano be detained in a federal lockup until trial. The magistrate will hold a detention hearing Thursday before deciding the matter.
U.S. Cyberwatch couldn't be reached Tuesday for comment. Its Web site states its all-volunteer staff wish to create awareness of child predation by monitoring and publishing Internet conversations involving "adults lurking in chat rooms, sending private messages to children ... in an attempt to set up real life meetings for sex."
The Web site states its volunteers have cooperated with law enforcement in generating more than 20 active criminal cases, more than five convictions, a parole revocation and a deportation.
Wojtkun alleges the Cyberwatch volunteer in this case, who was based in Michigan, signed on in a public chat room titled "Romance/Regional/Indiana" under the screen name "kira_iz_bored" and was immediately contacted by the defendant using the screen name "bcandiano2001."
It alleges the defendant asked Kira's age, gender and location and the reply was, "13/f/Hammond." It alleges the defendant asked "ua wild girl ... sexually active?" A sometimes graphic exchange ended with the volunteer setting up a meeting location and time in Hammond.
Wojtkun alleges the defendant signed back on about an hour later complaining, "I drove around for 20 minutes looking for it."
U.S. Cyberwatch published an e-mail dated Jan. 10 from "bcandiano 2001" stating "what happened yesterday, will never happen again," and asking "that the information on your site be removed or totally expunged."
Wojtkun alleges the defendant's father called Dyer Police Chief Richard Quinn on Jan. 17 to say "they just wanted to keep the entire event out of the local papers," but Quinn refused to intervene.
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Kimmy wrote on May 6, 2007 1:44 PM: