Man caught in chat room sting charged with attempted child sex

Heather Rawlyk

Tuesday, April 20, 2004 | 9:11 a.m.

A 27-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested Friday for allegedly trying to set up a sexual encounter with whom he thought was a 14-year-old boy he had met in an Internet chat room.

Metro Police said they arrested Peter Bartkowski at a local casino, where he was found waiting for the person he had met in a chat room and allegedly had convinced to meet for sex.

According to an arrest report, police planned the sting operation after an FBI special agent went online in late March, posing as a 14-year-old boy named Timmy in a Yahoo! chat room named "Boys Playing with Dads." The agent was contacted by Bartkowski, police said.

Bartkowski and Timmy engaged in instant messaging chat over the Internet for 40 minutes, in which Bartkowski described himself as a 27-year-old male named Pete who lives on a golf course in Las Vegas, according to the arrest report.

Bartkowski asked the boy to send a picture of himself over the Internet. The special agent sent a picture of Metro Police Officer David Denton, taken at the time the officer was 14 years old.

Bartkowski complimented Timmy's looks and allegedly asked him if he had ever had a sexual encounter with a male. Bartkowski then offered Timmy sexual favors and said he wanted to meet him for "sexual purposes," the police report said.

The conversation ended with Bartkowski giving Timmy his phone number.

A subpoena requesting subscriber information was issued to AT&T Wireless Service. The subscriber was identified as Pete Bartkowski, and his work phone number was also provided to police.

On April 7 Bartkowski initiated a second instant messaging chat with Timmy, expressing his desire to meet for a sexual encounter, the arrest report said.

Bartkowski told Timmy that he worked at a golf course pro shop. A call to the work number that police received through subscriber records reached the Painted Desert Golf Course.

Online chats continued for several days, in which Bartkowski allegedly reiterated his desire for a sexual encounter. A meeting was then set for 3 p.m. Friday outside the Suncoast bowling center, according to the police report.

When Bartkowski showed up for the meeting, he was arrested and subsequently charged with attempted sexual assault of a victim under 16 years, attempted kidnaping and luring a child, police said. In a taped interview, Bartkowski changed his story several times, at first telling police that he thought Timmy was 18 years old and that the two were "just meeting to talk," according to the police report.

When confronted with thechat logs, Bartkowski admitted he thought the boy was 14 years old and said he came to the meeting with the intention of bowling and "maybe a movie and sex if Timmy wanted," according to the police report.