Yes, "gatekeepers." People who see situations evolving that can become dangerous and choose to act before something bad happens. Taking responsibility for understanding the potential of a given situation. Perfect illustration, a story in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The link.

Posted on Tue, Dec. 21, 2004
Man, 67, arrested in solicitation of 'teen-ager'

By Deanna Boyd, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

He called himself Chuck and told the 16-year-old girl on the telephone that he was old enough to be her grandfather.

But police say the age difference didn't stop the 67-year-old man, whom witnesses said they saw cruising outside Eastern Hills High School for girls, from talking about sex.

The teen he was talking to, however, was actually T.T. Trevino, a 39-year-old neighborhood patrol officer, and many of the conversations were recorded.

Detectives arrested Noel Edmond Hutchins about 6:30 a.m. Monday at his Hurst home on a warrant accusing him of criminal solicitation of a child/sexual performance of a child. He was being held in the Mansfield Jail on Monday afternoon with bail set at $10,000.

Sgt. Paul Ware said police began investigating Nov. 11 after a man pulled up outside Eastern Hills High School in Fort Worth and asked a 17-year-old student whether she wanted a ride. She said no.

"He returned a short time later and asked the victim if she'd ever been with a white man," Ware said. "He gave her a phone number and said, 'My name is Chuck, and call me if you ever need a ride.' "

Trevino was working at a police storefront near the school when she was approached by a woman who said she had seen the man cruising around the high school and talking to the student.

"The concerned citizen said she thought this man gave the little girl his number," Trevino said. "I went out to talk to her. That's how the whole ball started rolling."

The 17-year-old girl told Trevino about her conversation and gave the officer the man's phone number. Trevino said she alerted other officers in the area to be on the lookout for the man, then called the number.

"He answered right away," Trevino said. "He asked who I was. I told him I had just gotten his number from my friend standing on the corner, and I was told he could give me a ride."

Trevino said she hoped the man would drive back to the school so she could identify him and pass on the information to investigators with the Sex Crime, Registration, Apprehension and Monitoring Unit.

But Trevino said the conversation took a different direction.

She said the man asked her where she lived, and when she told him that she lived a few blocks from the school, he asked her why she didn't walk home. Trevino said she told the man it was too cold.

"He alluded, 'You want something more than just a ride, huh?' " Trevino said.

She said she alerted the sex-crimes unit about the conversation. When the man began to call her private cellphone frequently, she equipped it with a recorder from a spy store, she said.

"Chuck started inquiring about her sexual experience and offering to teach her to become more experienced," Ware said. "It even progressed to the point of instructing her over the phone in sexual acts."

Subpoenaed phone records revealed the man's identity and showed that he attempted to call Trevino 44 times over four weeks, Ware said.

"I think that shows his predatory nature because of his obsession of calling her," Ware said. Investigators are continuing to review the records for other possible victims, he said.

Trevino said the man would at times avoid talking about meeting with her, saying, "Life is too short. We shouldn't rush into things."

Playing a teen-ager was a gamble that paid off, Trevino said.

"I tried to giggle a lot and seem shy," Trevino said. "I have no experience doing this, but for some reason, he believed I was 16."

Ware said: "She was concerned. She saw the danger that existed with him trying to pick up girls at the high school. I truly commend her for the excellent work she did."

Trevino gave much of the credit to the woman who brought the man's strange behavior to her attention.

"Had the concerned citizen not come in and said, 'Hey, there's a guy driving around the school trying to pick up female students,' I would have never acted on it," Trevino said. "We would have never known."

SRS