Waterbury man again accused of trying to lure children online
November 1, 2024 | By Eric Blaisdell | Times ArgusBARRE — A Waterbury man facing charges for allegedly possessing child sex-abuse materials is again accused of trying to lure children online.
Christopher Camp, 33, pleaded not guilty by video Friday in Washington County criminal court in Barre to a felony count of luring a child and four misdemeanor counts of violating conditions of release. If convicted, Camp faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
He had initially been released on conditions after $5,000 bail was posted on his behalf.
A hearing was held in his case Tuesday, where Assistant Attorney General Franklin Paulino asked that Camp be held without bail, given the alleged repeated behavior and risk Camp poses to public safety. Camp’s attorney, Maggie Vincent, asked that Camp be released on the bail posted, noting he has been forthcoming with law enforcement and appeared for the hearing knowing the state would be asking that he be held.
Judge Michael Harris ordered Camp held. The judge said he was concerned that Camp would continue engaging in the behavior, despite being on conditions of release and probation conditions put in place to address this specific conduct.
Detective Sarah Superneau, of the Vermont Attorney General’s office, said in her affidavit she received a forwarded anonymous email in May reporting Camp had been using Discord, an online messaging platform, and was communicating with a person he believed was a 15-year-old girl. Superneau said the email reported the person Camp was talking to was a “decoy” and he had sent the person explicit texts and images of male genitalia.
Superneau said she attempted to reach out to the person who sent the email to clarify some information, but had not received a response as of Aug. 20.
The detective said she obtained a search warrant in June for records connected to the Discord account believed to be used by Camp. She said the records confirmed Camp as the user of the account, with his name and address included in the account’s billing information. The detective said she also recognized Camp from photos connected to the account.
Superneau said message logs supplied by Discord showed Camp was conversing with people who identified as children and it appeared he was engaging in grooming behavior.
Superneau noted Camp had since moved from Waterbury to Moretown.
On Oct. 25, the detective said a search warrant was executed on a home in Bennington, where Camp was believed to be staying with his romantic partner. She said Camp answered the door when she knocked on it to execute the warrant.
After initially denying the allegations, Superneau said Camp admitted the Discord account in question was his and he had been engaging in conversations on the program until at least August. She said he admitted the youngest person he talked with was said to be 15 years old. The detective said Camp spoke about building relationships with kids and then using his position to turn things sexual. Superneau said Camp admitted to watching a live video where children engaged in sex acts.
The detective said Camp admitted to considering meeting up with local children.
Camp pleaded not guilty in February to six felony counts of possession of child sex abuse materials and a misdemeanor count of possession of child sex abuse materials. If convicted on those charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 32 years in prison.
That case also was investigated by Superneau. She said a witness reported Camp had been communicating on social media with a girl he believed was 9 years old. She said Camp reportedly sent this person photos of his genitals and asked for similar photos in return.
The detective said Camp was confronted in November 2023 at a store where he had been working in Waterbury. She said Camp admitted he had child sex abuse materials on his phone, and a witness took his phone from him and held it until police arrived.
She said Camp admitted he had been using messenger apps to communicate with underage girls. He told investigators he had been talking with two 9-year-old girls and four or five other girls, all between the ages of 12 and 15, according to court records.
Camp was convicted of felony attempted child luring in 2019. He was placed on probation as part of that sentence. During Tuesday’s hearing, he denied the second probation violation he now faces.
Police said in that initial case, Camp had been exchanging nude photos with a 13-year-old girl in Virginia.
This story was originally published in the Times Argus.
