Suspect indicted in chatroom seduction case

Erica D. Johnson

Friday, April 4, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.

The latest push from local authorities to crack down on so-called Internet predators came Wednesday, when a grand jury indicted a Henderson man on charges of using his computer to lure a 14-year-old girl into having sex.

The document, unsealed before District Judge Gene Porter, charges Marc Skewes with 31 felony counts stemming from a new charge known as use of technology to lure children.

Skewes, 41, also faces multiple charges of possession of child pornography.

Porter set bail at $500,000.

Skewes' attorney, Public Defender Jordan Savage, was unavailable for comment Wednesday as was Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent.

According to the indictment, Skewes communicated with a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl in a Yahoo chatroom between Jan. 3 and March 3.

The document claims Skewes tried to lure the child away from her home without the knowledge of the child's parents to meet for sex. The indictment also alleges he sent the teen pornography.

The girl with whom Skewes allegedly was chatting was actually an FBI agent. Skewes and his wife, Karen, were arrested as part of a sting operation known as the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Karen Skewes, 33, was not indicted, but she is referred to as a co-offender in the 15-page document.

The indictment alleges Karen Skewes participated by transmitting sexual images of herself to the agent via a web camera.

The couple was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing in Henderson Justice Court Monday, but the indictment means the case will go directly to District Court.

Skewes is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Donald Mosley.

Skewes' case is the second one Clark County is prosecuting under the new law created by the 2001 Legislature.

Anthony Ciesinski, 42, was arraigned last week on similar charges after authorities alleged he set up a meeting at a local casino with someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy.

Ciesinski had also been chatting with an FBI agent, authorities said.