Three child predators plead guilty

BEAUMONT - by Lauren Huet A man from Orange pleaded guilty in federal court today to enticement of a minor. Court documents say he tried to entice a child to have sex with him. The nine-year-old's mother found inappropriate messages and photos on the child's phone and turned it over to police before the suspect tried to meet the child. Joseph Lloyd White was charged with attempted enticement of a minor and transfer of obscene material to a minor. He pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor Thursday. White faces at least ten years in prison. "There's several times we've had what started with suspects just sending pictures back and forth to the child, to end with the suspect actually traveling to have sex with the child in Beaumont," said Detective Curl with the Beaumont Police Department. There were also two cases of child pornography at the federal courthouse in Beaumont today. According to court documents, Raymond Gajewski is charged with possession of child pornography, and Damien Oasis Winn is charged with receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors and distribution of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. I spoke with detectives and parents. They say it's important to monitor children's internet and phone to protect them from predators. April Anderson homeschools her six-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old son. The three came to Rogers Park Thursday for P.E. As a mom, she's aware of the danger posed by online predators. "It's very scary and it's, there's just so many more avenues, it's almost like they're always looking for the next thing to get in without your knowledge and establish some kind of relationship with your kids," said Anderson. Although her kids don't have cell phones yet, she's already taking steps to protect them. "As far as at home, they don't get on a computer without me nearby," said Anderson. "So, I'm very careful about the websites they go to, and we control the passwords to things, so they can't just go get on something without my knowledge." Detective Jeffrey Curl investigates child pornography and child exploitation cases for the Beaumont Police Department. He says it's a problem in Southeast Texas and across the U.S. "We can sit here all day long, talk about what's going on in the community, but there's no better image of that than seeing three of these cases come up at one time in federal court," said Detective Curl. He says kids must feel safe talking to their parents. "If the child can come to you and tell you what's going on, the first thing we ask is as a parent don't have that immediate reaction of, 'stop talking to my kid!'" said Detective Curl. "Look at the messages, see what's going on, if you think there's an offense involved report it to your local police department right away. That very moment." Detective Curl says communication is key. "But not just communication, you've also got to be looking through that phone, and understanding what's on that phone, and the apps and how they're being utilized," said Curl. Anderson agrees. "I guess that's just part of being a parent nowadays," said Anderson. "You've got to know not only how to operate certain things, but what's up and coming so that you can be on the front lines of defending [your children]."