Steven Demink pleads guilty to duping moms into sexually abusing kids/ His sentencing is scheduled for June/ Mothers are being charged and sentenced too

By JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press Jeff Karoub, Associated Press – 7 mins ago

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DETROIT – In real life, Steven Demink didn't have children, a college degree or a lasting career. Online, prosecutors say, he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist — a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children.

Demink, 41, of Redford Township, preyed on single mothers for more than a year, prosecutors say, convincing them to sexually assault their children as a form of therapy. After pleading guilty Monday to six charges related to the sexual exploitation of children, Demink faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in June.

Demink's alter-ego was a single father of a 14-year-old girl, prosecutors said, and he posted pictures of male models as his headshots. In some cases, court documents say, Demink promised the women a date if they followed through with his directions.

Since authorities arrested him in October, seven children were rescued and at least three mothers have been arrested. Prosecutors say all of the children are now safe.

Authorities say Demink chatted with mothers from New Hampshire, Florida, Idaho and elsewhere, persuading them to engage in sexual acts with their children and send images via e-mail or through a live web stream. The children ranged in age from 3 to 15.

Demink told U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen that before his arrest, he worked as a car salesman for about six months and before that for about five years at a local bank. He said he completed a U.S. Customs and Border Protection training program in 2002 and worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service for about a year. He attended college for about two years but did not earn a degree, he said.

As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, seven charges against Demink were dropped.

In one case, Demink started online chats with an Oregon woman about the sexual development of her 8-year-old autistic son, according to the plea agreement. He told her to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her son as a way to teach him about sex, prosecutors say, and she did so while Demink watched on a web camera.

"Demink intimated to these women that the result of the therapy would be healthier children," the document said.

Federal agents were tipped off to his operation by the Teton County Sheriff's Office in Idaho, said Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations. The mother of a woman who had been chatting with him called sheriff's officials in late 2009.

A Teton County Sheriff's Office report from December 2009 said the Idaho woman met "Daltonst28" on an online dating site called singleparentmeet.com. She told police she performed sex acts on her young son as directed by her online male friend.

The woman's mother, Eileen Schwab of Idaho, said she knows little of how Demink convinced her daughter to follow his orders. She said her daughter was "depressed and lonesome" after her divorce.

"I don't know how he wrangled her in," Schwab said. "She could have turned off the computer and gone the other way. He must have had a power over her."

Her daughter pleaded guilty last May to lewd conduct with a child under 16 and is currently in prison.

Another mother who was arrested was from New Hampshire and pleaded guilty in December to producing child pornography, which carries a possible sentenced of 15 to 30 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced in March. The Associated Press left a message seeking comment from Larry Dash, a federal defender representing her.

A woman from Lee County, Fla., also has pleaded not guilty to five counts and was being held without bond in Florida. She faces a May trial in federal court in Fort Myers, federal defender Martin DerOvanesian said.

Prosecutors say Demink also is linked to four other mothers in Indiana, Georgia, Illinois and Oregon but has not been charged with crimes related to those communications. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulcahy said those cases can be considered during sentencing.

The Associated Press is not naming the women to protect the identity of the children. The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse.

Demink's attorney, Timothy Dinan, said his client "has expressed a lot of remorse" for what he did and has taken responsibility by pleading guilty. Dinan said Demink's parents, who declined to be interviewed, are praying for their son as well as the victims and their families.

"It's a shame he couldn't ask for help," Dinan said.

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I am sorry, but really....how could he have convinced all these women to do these despicable acts on their kids. Remind me Never to go to that damned website! OMG, this is just unreal!! These mother's Had to be beyond desperate. I am stunned!

Updated: Monday, 28 Feb 2011, 6:55 PM EST
Published : Monday, 28 Feb 2011, 6:45 PM EST

By AMY LANGE
WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com

DETROIT (WJBK) - 41-year-old Steven Demink of Redford, an admitted child predator, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court. He is accused of manipulating moms into molesting their own children, seven women in seven different states, as he watched online.

"Steve has expressed a lot of remorse," said Timothy Dinan, his attorney. "He's very sorry for this, and it's a shame that he couldn't ask for help." Bull to the sh*t!!!

Most people would say it doesn't get much sicker than this. Allegedly, Demink, posing as a man named Dalton St. Clair, met the women on singleparentmeet.com. He reportedly used a picture of a male model instead of his own photo and told them he was a trained psychologist and father of a 14-year-old girl.

Demink allegedly urged the mothers to have sex with their children as a form of psychotherapy that would result in healthier kids.

The victims were as young as three and as old as 15 -- boys and girls. In some cases, the mothers performed oral sex on their sons and had intercourse with them. One of the victims was an eight-year-old autistic boy.

The women then reportedly sent photos of the sex acts to Demink or streamed them live via webcam for his instruction.

"The victims are devastated. The families are devastated. The Demink family … is very sympathetic to their position. They pray for those children and they pray for their son that he find some sort of redemption sometime," Dinan said.

The mothers have been charged for their crimes. We're told the twelve victims are now in safe environments.

The sexual assaults were committed from 2008 until 2010, all outside of Michigan, but all allegedly at the direction of Demink, a car salesman from Redford, who, ironically, used to work for federal law enforcement in customs and immigration.

Demink could spend anywhere from 15 years to the rest of his life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for June. He remains in the Wayne County jail for now.

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OMG has the whole world gone mad?? No way should that guy get anything but LIFE! If he doesn't he'll be out and hurting children again. What is wrong with these females? Something besides being lonely and desperate (IMO) because if there wasn't a screw loose in them, they would not have done anything to their children, they would have turned this creep in to LE!

He connected with mothers in New Hampshire, Idaho, Florida and elsewhere from April 2009 until September 2010, authorities say, and got them to engage in sexual acts with their children and send images via email or through a live web stream.
The children ranged in age from 3 to 15.
In one case, Demink started online chats with an Oregon woman about the sexual development of her eight-year-old autistic son, according to a plea agreement.
He told her to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her son as a way to teach him about sex, and she did so while Demink watched on a web camera, it is alleged.
'Demink intimated to these women that the result of the therapy would be healthier children,' the document said.
Federal agents were tipped off to his operation by the Teton County Sheriff's Office in Idaho, said Khaalid Walls, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations, which led the probe.
The mother of a woman who had been chatting with him called sheriff's officials in late 2009.
The woman's mother, Eileen Schwab, said she knows little of how Demink convinced her daughter to follow his orders, but knows she 'met him on the internet and he promised her the world'.
Schwab said her daughter was 'depressed and lonesome' after her divorce. Her daughter pleaded guilty to lewd conduct with a child under 16 in May of last year, and is in prison.
'I don't know how he wrangled her in,' Schwab said. 'She could have turned off the computer and gone the other way. He must have had a power over her.'
The arrested mothers also include a woman who lived in New Hampshire when prosecutors say the crimes occurred.
She pleaded guilty in December to producing child pornography, which carries a possible sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
The federal defender representing her could not be reached for comment.
A woman from Florida also has pleaded not guilty to five counts and was being held without bond in Florida and faces a May trial in federal court, federal defender Martin DerOvanesian said.
Prosecutors say Demink also is linked to four other mothers in Indiana, Georgia, Illinois and Oregon but has not been charged with crimes related to those communications. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulcahy said those cases are not part of the indictment but can be considered during sentencing.
None of the women can be named for legal reasons.

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Wendy Beighley, a 32-year-old Driggs woman, was the first to identify Demink’s pseudonym in connection with her arrest earlier this year. The mother of five was charged in December 2009 when Teton County Sheriff Deputy Justin Davis responded to a call of possible child abuse.

According to a District Seven Court affidavit, during the interview, the boy said Beighley performed oral sex on him 10 times. When Beighley was interviewed, she told the sheriff deputy that she had performed oral sex on the boy twice in the last two weeks.

In April, Beighley told District Seven Court Judge Darren Simpson that she did not do this for her own sexual gratifi cation, but for the sexual gratification of a man she had met on the Internet.

In September, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Demink’s home finding hundreds of images and videos of suspected child pornography. HSI was able to positively identify several of the children who were subjects in the content and remove them from their homes. As a result of this investigation, a total of five children in various states have been rescued from dangerous environments.

Beighley pled guilty to one count of lewd conduct with a child under 16 in Teton County Court in April changing her original plea of not guilty on two counts of lewd contact with a minor under 16 in exchange for information leading to a possible child pornography Internet ring. She is in Madison County jail serving a 7 to 20 year sentence. When she is released she will be required to register as a sex offender.

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Candice Miller

A man in Michigan has been indicted in federal court on 13 counts related to the sexual exploitation of children. The case is related to the arrest of 31-year-old Candice Miller in October.

A federal grand jury indicted 41-year-old Steven Demink from Redford, Michigan, on charges he convinced at least three women to sexually assault five children between the ages of 3 and 15. The women either took images of the incidents or allowed Demink live web cam access.

Demink met all of the women online, including Candice Miller of Alva.

In October, Candice Miller was charged with:

2 counts of sex assault victim 12-18 years old
2 counts of sex offense incest
2 counts of sex offense-against child-fondling conduct by person 18 years of age or older
2 counts of sex offense-against child-fondling victim 12-16 years of age, offender 18 years of age or older
At the time of her arrest, Miller allegedly had 1,000 child pornography images including some with her and a 14-year-old boy.

Miller allegedly met Demink on an online dating site. She said Demink told her he was a doctor in psychology.

Demink is charged with:

3 counts of conspiracy to sexually exploit children
3 counts of aiding and abetting the sexual exploitation of children
3 counts of online enticement and coercion
3 counts of receipt of child pornography
1 count possession of child pornography
The case involved defendants from Idaho, Florida, Virginia and Michigan. The other women charged in this case are Rebecca Nail and Wendy Beighley.

In Virginia Beach a 41-year-old woman is in federal custody facing child pornography charges.

Rebecca Nail had her first appearance yesterday in federal court in Norfolk.

In an affidavit, federal agents say 41-year-old Rebecca Nail of Virginia Beach admitted to engaging in sexual acts with a juvenile male.

With a search warrant, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents searched Nail's home and found a laptop computer, video camera, recordable media, and a Sanyo Digital camera.

Agents also say the found seven images depicting sexual acts between Nail and the underaged boy.

Federal agents say they found those same images on a computer in Redford, Michigan, owned by Steven Demink.

That's what led agents to Rebecca Nail in Virginia Beach.

Agents began investigating Demink in Michigan after allegations that while online, he coerced women to engage in sexual acts with children and send him images.

Agents say Demink met the women on the online dating site "singleparentmeet.com".

Once agents seized his computer, investigators found several suspected child pornographic images and videos.

During an interview, Demink gave investigators the names of women he met online who engaged in sex acts with children at his request.

Agents traced a Hotmail email address that was opened in New Hampshire and most recently used in Virginia Beach to Nail. Now a Virginia Beach Police School resource officer actually helped in the case.

He was able to identify the juvenile male through the pictures as a student at the officer's assigned school.

During an interview the juvenile admitted to being the person on the images.

Rebecca Nail will be back in federal court on Friday for a bond hearing.

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August 3, 2011

Steven Demink, 41 of Redford, Michigan, was sentenced today to life in prison after having pleaded guilty to six counts related to sexually exploiting children, announced United States Attorney Barbara McQuade. Ms. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Brian Moskowitz, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigation.

"This sentence reflects the outrageous harm this predator inflicted on innocent children," McQuade said. "In some ways, the defendant has already imposed a life sentence on them."

"Demink's manipulative and predatory actions give new meaning to the word depravity. Demink stole the innocence from these children in the most harmful of ways by orchestrating the mothers to be the instrument of their sexual abuse" said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Detroit. "Unfortunately, even this significant sentence cannot give these children back their innocence, but it should serve as a stark warning to others like Demink: HSI and our partners will be relentless in our pursuit of those who prey on our kids."

Demink pleaded guilty earlier this year. The plea agreement detailed Demink's use of a fictitious character named Dalton St. Clair, whom he described as a trained psychologist and single father of a 14 year-old girl. Using the St. Clair persona, Demink targeted single mothers on the dating website singleparentmeet.com." Demink befriended several mothers over the course of approximately 18 months between 2009-2010. Demink, relying on St. Clair's alleged psychological training, convinced seven (7) mothers to commit sex acts on their children. These sex acts were part of a "re-training" of the children. As noted in the plea agreement, the mothers and their children were from all over the country, and the child victims ranged in age from three years old to 15 years old, and were both boys and girls.

Demink pleaded guilty to counts related to mothers from Virginia, Idaho, and Florida, and agreed that at sentencing the judge may consider conduct related to all of the children. The investigation in this case led to charges against Demink, as well as most of the seven mothers. In addition to Demink, two of the mothers have already pleaded guilty to their crimes.

McQuade praised the work of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations agents Ted Wolters and Victim Witness Coordinator Amy Allen, who traveled around the country to coordinate the investigation and charges against the mothers and the rescuing of 12 children. HSI Agents worked tirelessly in investigating this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin M. Mulcahy and Hala Jarbou are prosecuting the case for the United States.

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