Officials prepare first Internet child-sex case

Erica D. Johnson

Monday, March 31, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

A man charged with using the Internet to lure a 14-year-old boy to meet for sex was arraigned Friday, setting in motion the first case prosecuted in Clark County under a new statute aimed at protecting children from Internet predators.

Anthony Ciesinski faces one felony count of use of technology to lure children, for allegedly arranging an October meeting at a Las Vegas hotel with a person he believed to be a child.

The person Ciesinski was communicating with was actually an undercover FBI agent. The sting operation was a joint venture between the FBI and Metro Police as part of the local Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Ciesinski's case marks first to be tried in Clark County under the statute created by the 2001 Legislature, in which the penalty is one to 10 years in prison, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Abbi Silver.

Marc and Karen Skewes of Henderson were arrested this month on the same charge after allegedly using the Internet to try to lure who they thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex. A preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled for April 7.

"This sends a message out to child predators that they'd better think twice before they get on the Internet trying to befriend a child," Silver said. "They could be chatting with a Metro officer or an FBI agent."

Ciesinski, 42, pleaded not guilty to multiple felony counts, which also included attempted sexual assault with a minor under 16 and attempted first-degree kidnapping.

At the request of defense attorneys, District Judge Lee Gates lowered Ciesinski's bail from $110,000 to $70,000.

Ciesinski's parents and girlfriend attended the hearing.

Defense attorney Joseph Reiff had initially argued that Ciesinski, a truck driver, be released on his own recognizance or placed on house arrest, claiming he wasn't a flight risk or a danger to the community.

"My client and his family have lived here since 1960," he said. "He owns a home and he has no prior record. There is no notion that this gentleman is going to leave prior to trial."

Prosecutors said Ciesinski instant-messaged the agent in a Yahoo chatroom and, in the exchange that followed during a five-day period, was told repeatedly that he was communicating with a 14-year-old boy.

According to Internet transcripts filed in court records, Ciesinski suggested the two meet at a hotel bowling alley, then go to a different location to have sex.

Ciesinski also e-mailed the agent naked and clothed pictures of himself, Silver said.

Reiff said it was the agent, not Ciesinski, who initiated the conversations.

"There is no evidence other than this single line of communication with him and the FBI," he said. "My client is not how the state is trying to portray him -- as a menace to society."

Silver claims Ciesinski knew what he was doing. In the transcripts, Ciesinski tells the agent not to tell anyone about the meeting, she said.

"I'm sure you know why we have to be very careful," he wrote. "Because, (with) you being so young, I could get in a lot of trouble."

"This defendant just didn't care," Silver said. "He knew what the law was."

Ciesinski's trial is scheduled for July.

In the meantime, Silver suggests parents take heed of a new kind of criminal lurking on the Internet.

"This goes on all the time," she said. "Parents need to be aware that there are offenders out there who will take advantage of their children on the Internet."