Sentencing Set For Former Reporter In Inappropriate Facebook Messages
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
A former Times-Union reporter pleaded guilty this morning to one count of attempted sexual misconduct with a minor, a level 6 felony, as part of a plea deal with the county prosecutor’s office.
Michael Anderson, 36, Warsaw, will be sentenced in Kosciusko County Superior Court II with Judge Torrey Bauer presiding at 1 p.m. May 22.
If Bauer accepts the plea deal, Anderson’s maximum sentence is 21⁄2 years, with 11⁄2 years of that served in jail and one year on probation. The other five counts would be dismissed. He could be fined up to $10,000.
Anderson, 36, Warsaw, has remained in Kosciusko County Jail since his arrest Nov. 29. He is being held on a $10,000 surety plus $1,000 cash bond for three level 5 felony counts of child solicitation, one level 6 felony count of attempted obstruction of justice, and a class A misdemeanor count of inappropriate communication with a child.
Anderson’s girlfriend, who lived with him, had met with a Warsaw Police Department officer in reference to Facebook messages she found on Anderson’s account. He had been using her laptop computer because his stopped operating. When the girlfriend went to use her computer, Anderson’s Facebook account was still logged on and she discovered his messages. She took photos of those messages and provided them to the police officer, along with her laptop.
The girlfriend told police she and Anderson met on a “Domestic Discipline Lifestyle” chat forum, which is for individuals seeking sexual activity involving physical restraints, the granting and relinquishing of control, and the infliction of pain.
The first of two separate chats the girlfriend showed to police were between Anderson and an individual police believe to be a female born April 14, 2004. The chat takes place sometime between Feb. 10 and April 27, 2017, but the photos do not show a date for the chat conversation.
Anderson and the girl talk about meeting, and Anderson tells the then-12-year-old he will “talk to her about being a good Christian” and the “new number seven.” He also tells her that he will then retrieve his paddle, take her up to her room and “spank her for her sins.”
When their chat later resumes, Anderson tells the girl they should meet up but he does not know how, and they discuss spanking. During the conversation, he learns the girl lied about being 13 when she was really 12.
The second chat is between Anderson and a Pennsylvania woman talking about the woman’s daughter and how the girl should be disciplined. Anderson tells the woman how she should discipline her daughter. They also talk about how the woman should kiss and discipline her other children, and that the children should thank their mother for spanking them.
After Anderson talks with the woman about how she should kiss him if they ever meet, he then tells her that her daughter would be required to kiss him with an open mouth, too, once she is old enough – a preteen or teen.
Officers then went to Anderson’s apartment. Inside, the affidavit states, the officers told him they believed he had inappropriate communication with a child on his digital devices and they wanted his cell phone. Anderson denied the officers’ request and said his phone was in his bedroom. Officers told Anderson he would need to stay in the living room on the couch while they obtained a search warrant for his cell phone. Anderson then ran between the officers, pushed them away and ran toward the bedroom, according to the affidavit. Officers stopped Anderson from going into his bedroom.
The officers obtained Anderson’s cell phone with the search warrant. In the phone, officers found several internet chat conversations with girls under 16 years old.
In a chat from 2016 to November 2017, a girl identified herself as being 14. He also talks to the girl about spanking her bare bottom.
In a chat with another girl from 2016 to November 2017, a girl identifies herself as being 14 and 15 years old. Their conversation begins with detailed photographs of a whipping station, and they chat about being spanked in the nude. The affidavit states Anderson “is also chatting with (the girl’s) parents to carry out his commands for the spanking.”
The affidavit indicates Anderson admitted that when he attempted to run into his bedroom that he was going to keep his cell phone from officers so they couldn’t see the information it contained. He also admitted he was into bondage and bondage role playing on the internet.
Anderson was working as a reporter for the Times-Union covering police and courts prior to his arrest. The newspaper was unaware of Anderson’s alleged illegal activities and his employment was terminated.
