Michigan - Fired firefighter used library computer to view porn and plot rape
03/12/07, By John Agar, The Grand Rapids Press
Grand Rapids, Michigan - Former Wayland firefighter Matthew Cook, fired for accessing child pornography at the fire station three years ago, is due in court this week for allegedly trying to hire a prostitute to help him kidnap and rape a young girl, police said in court records.
"Cook advised that he was looking to have sex by force with a 12-year-old female," Detective Matthew Kubiak wrote in an affidavit.
A probation report said Cook solicited a prostitute at South Division Avenue and 36th Street to "help him lure, kidnap and rape a 12-year-old Jane Doe" from a bus stop. "Cook wanted to pay (her) for her help but he didn't have the money presently, but would have it in a week." "He told her he was looking for someone 9 to 14 years old," Grand Rapids police Capt. Jeff Hertel said. The prostitute, worried that Cook might actually try to assault someone, then told police.
Cook, 27, is charged with solicitation of first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13, and trying to commit gross indecency with the prostitute and a "12-year-old Jane Doe." Both are five-year felonies. He is also charged with being a sexually delinquent person, which carries a penalty of one day to life.
A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday in Wyoming District Court. Cook, arrested earlier this month, is held on $500,000 bond.
Hertel credited the prostitute for coming forward. Cook never found a victim. "Somehow, he wanted her help. I'm not sure what she was supposed to do for him," Hertel said.
Wayland Police Chief Dan Miller said his city has an open case from last year on Cook, who allegedly accessed porn in the Wayland public library. "He was on a chat line and the complainant said he was looking at young naked females on the library computer," he said. Miller did not know if the images were minors.
The state police computer crime lab in Lansing is investigating the 2006 incident to determine the sites he accessed, said Miller. Allegan County sheriff's detectives are also investigating allegations that Cook molested a young girl, court records said. Cook joined the volunteer fire department in 1998 and was fired in 2004, Miller said.
Send e-mail to the author: jagar@grpress.com
Retrieved March 14, 2007 from http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-35/1173710799130390.xml&coll=6
Grand Rapids, Michigan - Former Wayland firefighter Matthew Cook, fired for accessing child pornography at the fire station three years ago, is due in court this week for allegedly trying to hire a prostitute to help him kidnap and rape a young girl, police said in court records.
"Cook advised that he was looking to have sex by force with a 12-year-old female," Detective Matthew Kubiak wrote in an affidavit.
A probation report said Cook solicited a prostitute at South Division Avenue and 36th Street to "help him lure, kidnap and rape a 12-year-old Jane Doe" from a bus stop. "Cook wanted to pay (her) for her help but he didn't have the money presently, but would have it in a week." "He told her he was looking for someone 9 to 14 years old," Grand Rapids police Capt. Jeff Hertel said. The prostitute, worried that Cook might actually try to assault someone, then told police.
Cook, 27, is charged with solicitation of first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13, and trying to commit gross indecency with the prostitute and a "12-year-old Jane Doe." Both are five-year felonies. He is also charged with being a sexually delinquent person, which carries a penalty of one day to life.
A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday in Wyoming District Court. Cook, arrested earlier this month, is held on $500,000 bond.
Hertel credited the prostitute for coming forward. Cook never found a victim. "Somehow, he wanted her help. I'm not sure what she was supposed to do for him," Hertel said.
Wayland Police Chief Dan Miller said his city has an open case from last year on Cook, who allegedly accessed porn in the Wayland public library. "He was on a chat line and the complainant said he was looking at young naked females on the library computer," he said. Miller did not know if the images were minors.
The state police computer crime lab in Lansing is investigating the 2006 incident to determine the sites he accessed, said Miller. Allegan County sheriff's detectives are also investigating allegations that Cook molested a young girl, court records said. Cook joined the volunteer fire department in 1998 and was fired in 2004, Miller said.
Send e-mail to the author: jagar@grpress.com
Retrieved March 14, 2007 from http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-35/1173710799130390.xml&coll=6