31-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Houston Birchett of Portsmouth, Virginia was charged back in January for allegedly being in possession of child porn. The investigation into Birchett started back in November of 2018 when authorities were notified about a craigslist ad that was placed in the personals before they were shut down. Here’s what the ad reportedly said…
“Please be young or willing to play with young,” one ad read, indicating the poster was 29. “Be real and willing to please.”
Shockingly, the ad was actually reported by craigslist users.
This led federal investigators to search Birchett’s home where they say they discovered child porn on some of Birchett’s devices.
A U.S. Magistrate Judge was about to release Birchett on his own recognizance until his sister allegedly claimed that federal agents planted child porn on her brother’s devices. I always said that blood is dumber than water.
Anyway, this is just another reason why craigslist should have been moderating its personals sections before they shut them down and why they should still be moderating the missed connection section. While the ‘community policing’ actually worked in this instance, this is more the exception than the rule.
(Sources)
New York Post
The Virginia-Pilot
UPDATE 6/17/2020: Birchett has pleaded guilty to child porn charges and is expected to be sentenced on October 23rd.
UPDATE 1/26/2021: Birchett has been sentenced to 33 months in prison and will remain on supervised release for 15 years upon his release.
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 