Man admits sending obscene photos to Newbury officer
May 6—NEWBURY — A New Hampshire man avoided jail time Wednesday after pleading guilty in Newburyport District Court to charges of sending obscene matter to a minor and distributing obscene matter.
Dana M. Crickard, 31, of Rochester believed he was sending obscene photos of himself to a 14-year-old girl but instead sent them to an undercover Newbury police officer who charged him last fall.
Judge Peter Doyle sentenced Crickard to 18 months behind bars but suspended all jail time for 30 months while Crickard is on probation. As part of his plea deal, Crickard must register with the state Sex Offender Registry Board. He was also barred from using social media and must attend related counseling.
Newbury police Detective Sgt. Aaron Wojtkowski posed as a teenage girl as he scanned a "popular teen chat room" in August. He then posted an announcement that he was looking to chat with other users in the area.
"This chat room is often used as a means to sexually exploit children," Wojtkowski wrote in his report, leaving out the name of the chat room or service.
Almost immediately, Crickard sent Wojtkowski several messages saying he would like to chat and that he was from Rochester. After telling Wojtkowski he was 31, the detective told Crickard he was 14 years old.
"The target user's response was 'I know I like girls your age that OK with you?'" Wojtkowski wrote in his report.
Wojtkowski then directed Crickard to a social media site where the two began exchanging messages. Over the next few weeks, Crickard sent Wojtkowski more messages and asked if "she" could send him "illicit images" of herself.
On Aug. 18, Crickard sent Wojtkowski a photo of a male sex organ, believing the detective was a 14-year-girl, according to his report.
Days later, someone picked by Wojtkowski posed as a teenager and had several video calls with Crickard.
Wojtkowski then obtained a search warrant to identify the user of the social media account.
That search resulted in Wojtkowski learning Crickard's phone number and address. The detective then checked Crickard's driver's license photo with the photo he sent to Wojtkowski and determined they were the same person.
Further verification took place when the person posing as a teenage girl had another video call with Crickard. Wojtkowski captured a digital image of a call and compared it to Crickard's driver's license. Again, the two images matched.
By the end of October, Wojtkowski and a Rochester Police Department officer visited Crickard at his home. During the interview, he admitted to police that he sent two photos of his genitals to Wojtkowski, according to the detective's report.
Staff writer Dave Rogers can be reached at drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
