Three Southern Oregon men face sex-crime charges for allegedly coming to Jackson County to have sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy they met online.

Oregon State Police are investigating at least two more suspects and another man already has pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree sodomy involving the teen, said OSP Detective Blain Allen.

OSP launched a seven-month investigation after a juvenile justice counselor uncovered the abuse, Allen said.

The boy and his parents cooperated with investigators, handing over a computer the teen had used so detectives could track online activity that had led to meetings, Allen said. Jackson County Circuit Court records show that the incidents happened in 2005 and 2006.

Combining information mined from the computer with interviews and photo lineups, police identified suspects and got warrants for their arrests in September.

Advertisement

The most recent arrest was that of Craig William Lunt, 56, of Bandon, on Thursday, police said. Lunt is set to appear in Circuit Court here Feb. 22 on two counts of third-degree rape and three counts of third-degree sodomy.

Trenton Lyle Ray, 23, of Grants Pass, was arraigned Jan. 19 on 10 counts of third-degree sexual abuse.

Richard Steele, 38, of Winston, was arraigned Dec. 11 on charges of third-degree sexual abuse and compelling prostitution. He has entered not guilty pleas and is set to go to trial March 28.

Matthew Jay Prinslow, 23, of Rogue River, was arrested in September and pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree sodomy in October. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years' probation in December, court records show. Allen said Prinslow knew the victim's family before chatting online with the teen.

The boy went to chat sites, including some linked to Yahoo, where he met men. The online conversations escalated to private online chats, then in-person meetings with sexual activity, Allen said.

Third-degree rape, sodomy and sexual abuse all involve sexual contact with a child younger than 16, who isn't old enough to give consent.

Central Point Police Detective Josh Moulin, who specializes in computer forensics, helped state police access computer records of the chat sessions, Allen said.

"We would not have been able to do this without him," Allen said, explaining that OSP has only two computer forensics experts to handle all of the high-tech cases the agency faces.

With the details Moulin found on the teen's computer, investigators were able get subpoenas for records from Internet service providers and chat sites to identify people behind the screen names. In photo lineups, the victim confirmed the identities of the men he met. He also told investigators about the contact he had with the men, Allen said.

"We're not done with this," Allen said. "At least two other suspects have been doing this."

Allen cautions parents to watch out for their children and keep track of their online activity.

"It's not uncommon for kids and adults to meet like this," he said. "Parents absolutely need to pay attention to what their kids are doing online."

He said even kids who think they are mature and sophisticated can be too trusting online and quickly get in over their heads. And parents, who want to trust kids they think are responsible, might not be aware of the potential danger.

"You need to be a parent, not a friend," he said.