Washington man charged with enticing supposed minor

WASHINGTON — A 53-year-old Washington resident was arrested Wednesday, after police said he tried to entice someone he believed to be 13 years old.

A news release from the city’s police department said Reuben Eicher had partially admitted he intended to commit the illegal sex act in an online video, before investigators interviewed him and later executed a search warrant to seize his cellphone. The police department was initially tipped off about the case by a community member on May 4, according to the release.

“While the information provided by a citizen was helpful in this investigation, the charges related to this case are based on probable cause established by a thorough investigation,” said Washington Chief of Police Jim Lester in a statement. “We discourage citizens from conducting their own investigations and taking actions that could hinder or interfere with possible ongoing investigations.”

Court records for Eicher’s case referenced a video, recorded phone calls, text messages and chat logs from dating app Grindr. Documents said Eicher had admitted to using the app, and to being “confronted by an individual concerning the video,” but couldn’t remember all of what happened because he was intoxicated during the confrontation.

In an email, Lester declined to clarify whether the case’s victim was indeed a juvenile, a police officer posing as a minor, or an untrained community member doing the same, saying he could not discuss the details of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Other area law enforcement officials have recently issued warnings against amateur pedophilia investigations, informally known as “pedo-baiting.” The process involves adults setting up social media accounts where they pretend to be under 18, then arranging sexual encounters with other adults, in which they confront the other party about pedophilia.

Generally, the encounter is filmed, sometimes secretly, and usually with the intent to submit the recording as evidence to police. Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding said in March that such videos had led to the investigation of at least one man in Fairfield.

Still, Moulding asked community members to avoid such amateur investigations as a rule of thumb, saying the practice was unsafe and sometimes compromised the evidence in the court of law.

“Standard procedures from child exploitation investigation agencies generally prohibit the use of ‘vigilante’ investigations or ‘stings’ in furtherance of criminal investigations, for a number of reasons,” he wrote. “These investigations generally adhere to specific rules relating to evidentiary integrity and chain of custody, as well as procedural limitations on what can and cannot be said when an investigator poses as a minor online when investigating sexual exploitation. Furthermore, there are grave and serious safety concerns generated when confronting an adult who may have just been caught seeking to exploit a minor for sex.”

Moulding did not immediately reply to an email Thursday morning asking whether the March investigation eventually resulted in an arrest.

Eicher is charged with enticing a minor, a Class D felony, which could result in a sentence of up to five years and fine of up to $7,500. Police said he was being held in the Washington County Jail awaiting an initial appearance in court.

The Washington Police Department said it was assisted in its investigation by the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Washington County Attorney’s Office.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com