Michigan Attorney General Cox Arrests Former Macomb Co. Assistant Prosecutor Turned Internet Sexual Predator

25 May 2006

Attorney General Mike Cox and Col. Tadarial J. Sturdivant, Director of the Michigan State Police, announced today that charges have been filed against Steven Michael Waclawski of St. Clair Shores. Waclawski was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Macomb County from March 1986 until July 1990; he is now an attorney in Birmingham. Waclawski is charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and child sexually abusive material.

"This case reminds us again that Internet sexual predators can come at our children from all angles," said Cox. "My office will continue our aggressive efforts to protect Michigan's children."

Steven Michael Waclawski, age 52, of St. Clair Shores, is charged as a result of his being arrested in Illinois after traveling there to meet an undercover officer he thought was a minor for sex. The Michigan Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, operated by the Michigan State Police, was assisting both the Ohio and the Illinois ICAC in the arrest of Waclawski in Illinois after he traveled there to have sex with a minor as part of an undercover investigation. The Michigan ICAC and MSP investigators obtained and executed search warrants on the defendant's home and office computers on March 20, 2006. In reviewing the materials seized from Waclawski's home, investigators discovered hundreds of images of male child pornography, including some three dozen images suspected to be manufactured by Waclawski. Several pictures appeared to be taken in his home.

"Internet predators do not recognize state boundaries so neither can investigations," said Col. Tadarial J. Sturdivant, Director of the Michigan State Police. "Thanks to cross-state cooperation and the support of the Michigan Attorney General's Office, we're sending a message that child predators will not be allowed to prey on our children, no matter who they are or where they come from."

Waclawski was charged in 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Waclawski is charged with 3 counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the first degree, punishable by up to life in prison; two counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the second degree, punishable by up to 15 years; five counts of Using a Computer to Produce Child Sexually Abusive Material, punishable by up to 20 years in prison; and one count of Production of Child Sexually Abusive Material, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Waclawski is currently incarcerated in DuPage County, Illinois, on bond of $200,000 on charges there. Waclawski is expected to be arraigned on these Michigan charges once his Illinois case is resolved.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Since its restructuring, Cox's Child and Public Protection Unit has arrested 90 Internet sexual predators. Attorney General Cox encourages parents to visit http://www.michigan.gov/ag for tips on safe Internet usage for children. Citizens can also report suspected Internet child predators via the Report Internet Abuses Against Children link, or by calling the Child and Public Protection Unit at (313) 456-0180.

Source: prnewswire

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