The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Joplin Metro

Discussion

November 12, 2008

Accused Internet predator ordered to stand trial

By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

A Centralia man has been ordered to stand trial in Jasper County Circuit Court on three counts of attempting to entice a child via the Internet.

Donald C. Bisans, 48, appeared at a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Joplin. At the conclusion of the hearing, Associate Circuit Judge Richard Copeland found probable cause for Bisans to stand trial on the charges.

Detective Ed Bailey, who investigates Internet crimes against children for the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, was the lone witness to testify at the hearing. Bailey told the court that in March and April of this year, while posing as a 13-year-old girl on the Internet, he was contacted by someone who went by the screen name of goodguy4u68@yahoo.com.

Bailey said the contact sent him a link to an adult pornography Web site, and instructed him to click on it and watch some porn movies. He said that over the course of the following week, the contact continued to chat with his Internet identity and began to tell her what he wanted to do to her sexually.

Bailey testified that the contact offered to send her money to purchase a webcam so that she could expose herself to him. He said the man eventually sent $80 to an address that he had provided so that she and her fictitious teenage friend “Cindy” could buy webcams and have sex together while he watched over the Internet.

The detective said he managed to identify the contact as Bisans through information Bisans let slip in the chats concerning the year and model of a truck he owned, and how he had been in an accident recently. Bailey said he saved a webcam image that Bisans allegedly sent him and relayed it to an officer who worked an accident in the Columbia area involving a vehicle matching the vehicle description Bisans provided. He testified that the officer identified the image as the driver of the vehicle.

On cross-examination by Bisans’ attorney, public defender Charles Oppelt, Bailey acknowledged that Bisans never actually arranged to come to Southwest Missouri to meet Bailey’s Internet identity or her friend, although he allegedly expressed a desire possibly to do so if he was able to see them first via a webcam.

“He indicated he wanted to get the two of us in a motel but was uncertain how he was going to do that,” Bailey said.

Oppelt also questioned Bailey about two female “decoys” he had used to have telephone contact with the defendant. One of the decoys was a female deputy in the Sheriff’s Department. The other was the wife of an area police chief, Bailey said. Oppelt asked him if she was a sworn officer, and Bailey acknowledged that he did not know.





Appearance date



Associate Circuit Judge Richard Copeland ordered Donald Bisans to make an initial appearance Nov. 24 in a trial division of the court.

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