Little League Coach Charged With Internet Sex Crimes
A 47-year-old father of three and Little League coach turned himself in Sept. 7 after being charged with having overt sexual conversations in an Internet chat room with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl. According to a news article in The Daily Record, Michael Donofrio was represented in court by his lawyer, also his wife of 22 years, and is facing a slew of charges including attempted sexual assault, attempted child endangerment and attempted promotion of obscene material.
Donofrio is reportedly out on a $50,000 bail. Officials say Donofrio did not realize that the person he thought was a 13-year-old girl was actually a 45-year-old man who belonged to the anti-pedophile group, Perverted Justice. The same group also works with the popular “Dateline NBC” show “To Catch a Predator.”
According to court documents, the newspaper reports that Donofrio got in touch with the girl through a Yahoo chat room in March. He reportedly told the girl he was “totally turned on” by her and gave her a BlackBerry cell phone number. The newspaper also reports that Donofrio continued to chat with the girl through March and even set up a meeting, but Donofrio did not show up. Community members also told the newspaper they couldn’t believe that Donofrio, the father of three sons and a community-minded man would be facing such charges.
Although Donofrio has reportedly told investigators and officials that he is “embarrassed” by the charges, prosecutors must prove that it was in fact Donofrio who was in that chat room. The prosecution must prove each and every one of the charges against Donofrio.
Internet offenses, especially those that involve sex crimes and juveniles, are getting to be an extremely complex area of law. It takes a competent, experienced and tenacious criminal defense attorney to sift through the evidence and detect weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. At Lependorf & Silverstein, we have what it takes to win cases, build a solid defense, and reduce charges and penalties. If you or a loved one has been charged with sex crimes in New Jersey, call us right away for a free consultation.
