Michigan man charged after chatting with woman posing as 13-year-old online
By Joseph Buczek
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LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Michigan (WWJ) — A Livingston County man is facing a slew of felony charges after he allegedly sent sexually explicit images and videos to someone impersonating a 13-year-old girl on the internet.
Richard Green, 54, of Gregory, Michigan, was arrested after a woman came forward to police on April 25, stating that she had been impersonating a 13-year-old online.
The witness gave police hours of recorded conversations and hundreds of pages of screenshots of conversations she had with Green. Police say Green sent the witness sexually explicit images and videos and attempted to meet up with her for sex on several occasions.
As police were preparing to arrest Green, the witness reportedly posted the evidence she had gathered and identified Green as the suspect on her social media channel.
Officials say Green destroyed “significant evidence” in the case after discovering the post and that the post increased the risk to other children in Green’s home and the officers involved. Green was arrested without incident.
“It is common that in cases of this nature, there are other victims who have not come forward,” said Unadilla Township Police Chief David Russell in a statement. “While we do not have any indication that this defendant committed other acts, if there was any evidence of that, it would have been possibly located on the defendant’s electronic devices, and it is was likely destroyed as a result of him being given advance notice from the social media post.”
During an interview, police say Green admitted to impersonating his wife in text messages “to make the girl feel safe” and attempted to encourage the witness to befriend his daughter so that she had a reason to come to his home.
Green was arraigned on May 1 and charged with four counts of child sexually abusive activity, four counts of using a computer to commit a crime and one count of evidence tampering. He was given a $300,000 bond.
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