Background: Randolph County Jail in Winchester, Indiana (Google Maps). Inset: James Raber (Randolph County Sheriff’s Department).
An Indiana man fell victim to a police sting operation where he mistakenly thought an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl engaged in conversations with him. The man went on to discuss engaging in sexual activities and called himself “built like SpongeBob.”
James A. Raber, 63, was charged in Randolph County Circuit on May 29 with attempted child molestation and child solicitation.
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The communication between the man, identified as Raber, and the undercover deputy from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department started on May 8, when the deputy set up a fake profile on Facebook Messenger. This information was detailed in a probable cause affidavit signed by the deputy and seen by Law&Crime.
“Guess how old I turned on my birthday?” the fake account said that night, to which Raber reportedly responded, “let me guess 15.”
“Nope 13!” the undercover detective replied.
Over the following days, Raber sent numerous sexually explicit messages and asked about helping the girl, named “Steph,” hide with him in a “safe country.” He believed “Steph” was with another man and repeatedly inquired about her activities, expressing jealousy and suspicion if she was involved with someone else, as stated in the court document.
He allegedly asked the fake profile to send a photo of herself and even offered to pick her up and help her take a bus down to Florida, where the fake profile stated they wanted to go, but not before she performed sex acts on him.
According to the affidavit, when they arranged to meet, Raber again asked “my sexy girl” if she was having sex with the person Raber believed was the other man, and indicated he was pleased that she did not.
“Now I’m a very big tall guy, 6’4” 295 lbs, I’m built like Spongebob,” he said, adding a vulgar sexual promise: “So if you ever had a fantasy about f—ing … SpongeBob, that’s me.”
On May 29, when the detective posing as the girl suggested a difficulty in being able to leave to arrive at their agreed-upon meeting spot, a Village Pantry in Farmland, Indiana, Raber is said to have replied, “WTF, that really screws me driving to there today.” He at one point messaged for her to not walk to the bar where he was, “because they have cameras in the lot,” per the court document.
Once the fake profile said they were leaving to meet, Raber reportedly left the bar and went to the Village Pantry, where Farmland Police Department officers and Randolph County sheriff’s deputies were waiting for him. They detained him “without conflict.” The detective who signed the affidavit said he confirmed Raber was the suspect when, during their interview, Raber confirmed that it was “his account that he was having the conversation with ‘Steph.”” Raber’s vehicle also reportedly matched the one he described to the fake profile.
Raber had an initial hearing on his charges on Wednesday. He reportedly has an extensive criminal history, including DWI convictions and traffic violations.
It is unclear whether law enforcement suspected Raber of criminal acts or desires before the messaging began and that’s why they targeted him, or if the detectives could have been targeting anyone.
