"Jane Doe" - 12 yo - Accused: Josh Paul Hain - Big Rapids MI

A 12-year-old Big Rapids girl who met a Kentwood man on the
Internet, then went to the Grand Rapids area overnight with him last
week, portrayed herself as a much older teen online, police said.

But Mecosta County Sheriff Todd Purcell said 28-year-old Josh Paul
Hain, now charged with enticing a child/kidnapping, should have known
upon sight that the girl was much younger than her claim of being 17.

Hain, of Kentwood,
is in the Mecosta County Jail on a $500,000 bond and Kentwood police
reportedly are investigating allegations she was sexually assaulted by
Hain. He has no criminal record.

Police said Hain and the girl talked online for several days before
they agreed to meet each other, with Hain driving to the girl's school
to pick her up on Jan. 5.

The girl told school staff at Crossroads Charter Academy that she was
going home sick when Hain came to get her. When she did not come home
from school, her mother called police to file a runaway report.

Purcell said the mother was "pretty concerned," because the daughter
had not gone missing in the past. Deputies began working on the
disappearance that night, tracking her cell phone and finding it early
Thursday in a Dumpster at the Wesco gas station on Perry Street in Big
Rapids.

At the same time, investigators discovered the girl's notebook
computer at home and discovered the chats she had with Hain, Purcell
said. Police then figured she was with him, but were not sure where, he
said.

The girl called her family once from a pay phone, telling them she
was in Kalamazoo, but Purcell said police think she was lying.
Investigators did not believe she was in immediate danger at the time.

Police tried to track Hain's cell phone as well, but a glitch surfaced and they could not track his whereabouts.

The girl turned up back in Big Rapids about 4 p.m. Thursday when Hain
allegedly dropped her off at the Wal-mart in Big Rapids. She called a
family member to come get her.

Purcell said Kentwood police found and arrested Hain on Saturday, but he did not know the circumstances behind the arrest.

He also did not know details of how Hain and the girl spent the time
together or where they spent the night, but knew they were first in
Grandville and then Kentwood before heading back to Big Rapids.

While she was with him willingly, she is too young to give consent, Purcell said.

He did not know the web site where Hain and the girl allegedly met,
but warned parents to be vigilant about their children's online
activities.

"Parents should always monitor and take an active role in their
children's Internet experience and make sure things like this aren't
happening," he said. "Let's face it, there are bad people out there."

The girl's mother declined comment Tuesday.

28-year-old alleged child molester's defense: She didn't look like she was only 12 years old

Thursday, February 24, 2011


Joshua Hain


KENTWOOD – The 28-year-old who met a Big Rapids girl after reading her profile on “Fling.com,” plans to argue that he had no idea the girl he picked up at a charter school was only 12 years old.

Joshua Paul Hain waived his probable cause hearing in Kentwood District Court today where he faces three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct along with an additional charge of kidnapping --child enticement.

Police say Hain picked up the girl in Mecosta County and then drove her back to his apartment off Stauffer Avenue SE, north of 52nd Street.

On the road between Big Rapids and Kentwood, Hain told the girl he was 26 and the girl told him she was 16, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hain then asked if she meant she was “more like 15,” the affidavit states.

While in Kent County, Hain brought the girl to Victoria's Secret and bought her panties before going to his apartment where the two engaged in repeated sexual activity, according to court records.

The next day, Hain's mother called him and said police were looking for him and the girl. Police say the two engaged in a sexual act as he drove.

He allegedly dropped her off at the Big Rapids Wal-Mart and told her not to tell anyone.

Hain's attorney Frank Stanley pointed out to the judge that “Fling.com” has terms of use that call for participants to be 18 or older and that the pictures the girl posted on the site did not look like they were of a child.

“She simply doesn't present as anywhere near the age of 12,” said Stanley. “There's just very unusual circumstances in this case.”

Chief Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker agreed that the girl did misrepresent her age, but Hain should have known better.

“He did pick her up at a middle school,” Becker said. “That should set off some alarm bells.”

Stanley said the school was for grades 7-12 and that his client was not out to entice children. He said Hain has no criminal record and a long work history.

About a dozen people showed up at court to support Hain. The alleged victim and her family was not present.

The prosecutor's office offered Hain a plea agreement here he would plead guilty to one count of criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping and the other charges would be dropped.

The prosecution would also agree to recommend that the minimum sentence be 15 years rather than the standard 25-year minimum on CSC-1.

The charges carry a potential maximum life sentence.

Judge William Kelly agreed to lower Hain's $500,000 bond to $150,000.

The case moves to Kent County Circuit Court unless the defense wants a probable cause hearing based on forthcoming DNA tests and other evidence.

Recent state court rulings have determined that not knowing how old a child may be is not a defense for committing criminal sexual conduct.

However, Stanley says that aspect of law has never been directly challenged.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/02/28-year-old_alleged_child_mole.html