Daniel _____, 38, unknown address in Concord, was arrested at 12:20 p.m. on March 7 on two felony registration of online identifiers charges. _____ reported to Concord police at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 27 to update his sex offender registration — something he needs to do since he was convicted on an aggravated felonious sexual assault charge in December 2001 in Franconia. He told police he was using a vehicle purchased for him and wanted it registered. After updating the registration, _____ spoke to the detective about a personal matter — a 16-year-old boy who was using Grindr, which had a minimum age of 18 for usage, and he wanted someone to know about it, according to an affidavit. The detective asked how long he had been using the app, and he said after reactivating his phone two weeks prior, he noticed the app was still active, a report said. The detective asked to look at the phone and Gadwah told them the teen was in the “Fresh Faces” section of the app, the affidavit said. After updating the registration again, the detective seized the cell phone and requested a search warrant. The search warrant was approved in February. The detective analyzed several chat messages between the phone’s account and other app users, including _____ speaking about his past criminal history, like his original conviction of rape of a minor when he was a teen, the affidavit said. The report said the cellphone also had eDate, Snapchat, Facebook, and Facebook Messenger accounts, with chats that began the same day as the investigation. The report said a supplemental warrant was requested to obtain a date for when the Facebook Messenger account was created. The detective wrote it was earlier in January. Based on the evidence, the detective filed two felony charges against _____. He was arraigned in Merrimack County Superior Court on March 8 and bail was amended on March 21.
It’s an example of why we all need to worry about SORNA’s requirement to list all online identifiers:
(Although, my greater concern would simply be trying to remember all the various online identifiers I’ve signed up for over the years, not to mention all of those that have been assigned to me by utilities companies, internet services providers, mobile phone services, etc.])
Yes, this guy was not very smart, and he was trying to do something he thought was nice, to help a teenager. For that, he gets to go to prison. Never talk to police more than you have to and never volunteer any information.
“The detective analyzed several chat messages between the phone’s account and other app users”. Why? Does this detective have nothing else to do?? This was a private citizen who has his 1st Amendment Rights fully intact, including the right to communicate and associate with others irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. There is NO LAW or STATUTE (SORNA or otherwise) prohibiting or limiting these rights. He is not on probation, parole, etc. He is a free citizen.
With the information presented here, there appears to be NO articulable, specific and reasonable justification to conduct this search of a private communication device, and nothing upon which a Court could then justify the issuance of a warrant. This is harassment, pure and simple, stemming from the personal prejudices of a STUPID DETECTIVE and a STUPID JUDGE (sorry, I can’t think of any other adjective suitable for publication here). I fulley expect a STUPID PROSECUTOR to file this ridiculous case, and a trial held. This case should be thrown out/dismissed upon appeal, as I also fully expect a conviction.
It’s just luck of the draw as to what kind of justice will be dispensed in our country today. Disparity in the administration of justice runs rampant. “There are eight million stories in the Naked City. This has been one of them”…(showing my age, huh?).
This guy is in trouble because he violated an important rule: NEVER TALK TO COPS!!!
Bail jumping, domestic violence, criminal mischief, assault, felony stolen property—yet this newspaper decides to put this guy’s picture on the page for failing to register his Facebook account. I wonder why?
There is nothing you can say to a cop that will help you. It may or may not hurt you, but talking to them will never help.
He would not have been arraigned by a state court for a violation of federal SORNA regulations. NH may have parallel statutes about online identifiers, but the state can’t ban access to social media without running up against Packingham v North Carolina. I suspect the guy will eventually get off from the state charges, but not without considerable pain from the arrest alone. Harrassment? Yes.
So many things wrong here.
First, if the guy wasn’t trying to solicit minors, what’s the big effing deal???
Second, he screwed himself by bringing up the matter to the cops. If you’re a registrant and have online accounts the cops don’t know about, DON’T tell them about suspicious online accounts!!
Third, how many here think the alleged 16 year old is a police decoy?
I want to know what the police did about the minor on Grindr. What are the bets the minor is still there becoming someone’s ‘victim’ while law enforcement does nothing at at all to prevent it by getting the kid off of Grindr?