Sanford man allegedly propositioned mom for sex with her child; mom called the law
A Sanford man accused of attempting to buy a child for sex was arrested after a woman contacted police alleging he offered to pay her for access to her 9-year-old, court records show.
Joseph Jay Vieu, 50, of Post Office Road in Sanford, is charged with two counts each of human trafficking a child victim and soliciting prostitution from a minor in two incidents that occurred in April.
According to an arrest warrant, the mother told law enforcement on April 2 that Vieu responded via text message to an ad she'd placed on an adult website. During the exchange, he allegedly asked her if she had children and when she said she did, he offered her money to have sex with them.
That same day, a sergeant with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office messaged Vieu undercover, the record states.
"The conversation developed very quickly with Vieu requesting sexual acts in exchange for money. These sexual acts are described as "physically aggressive sexual acts," according to the affidavit.
Vieu allegedly offered to pay $20,000 for sex with the child, the record states.
He allegedly also stated in the messages that he wanted someone to record him having sex with the child so he could show it to his drug dealer; and that he wanted to "prostitute the 9-year-old to make money," according to the court records.
Related: Man accused of trying to 'buy a child' booked into Cumberland County jail
Second contact
Three weeks after the first contact by undercover agents, Vieu was contacted a second time on April 23 by an officer posing as a mother, the record states. During that exchange, Vieu allegedly offered $400 to sodomize a 10-year-old girl.
He also reportedly requested naked pictures of the 10-year-old and said he wanted to get the mother and child high on drugs and watch pornography together, according to court records.
After giving Vieu a phone number purportedly belonging to a child, he is alleged to have immediately sent messages stating "if she wanted a lot of money for her and her mom, she would send Vieu a naked photograph after which he would show her his penis." He is also accused of offering $1,000 to sodomize the 10-year-old and "take her virginity"
On April 24, Vieu was confronted by a State Bureau of Investigation special agent at the home where he lives with his parents, and turned over his phone, allegedly admitting to both conversations with undercover agents and stating the conversations were "all fantasy based," the record states.
Vieu is being held in the Cumberland County jail with bail set at $3 million, the Sheriff's Office said.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact Sheriff's Office Senior Sgt. N. Mincey 910-677-5514. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the Fayetteville/Cumberland County CrimeStoppers by calling 910-483-TIPS (8477); visiting fay-nccrimestoppers.org online; or by downloading the FREE “P3 Tips” app available for mobile devices.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Joseph Vieu arrested on child sex trafficking charges Friday
