Fireman arrested in Net kid-sex sting
 

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Fireman arrested in Net kid-sex sting

By JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER


A Brooklyn firefighter was arrested yesterday for allegedly steaming up the Internet, trying to lure what he thought was a 14-year-old girl into having sex, authorities said.
Firefighter Ryan Hogan, 24, who allegedly did some of the illicit wooing on a firehouse computer, was arraigned wearing a T-shirt commemorating the Bravest who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

He also wore an FDNY T-shirt in a video image he allegedly sent that showed him naked from the waist down, performing a lewd act.

In reality, the teen online was an adult member of a watchdog group called Perverted Justice that patrols Net chat rooms to catch what it calls "wanna-be pedophiles."

Hogan, a firefighter for 15 months, was released on a $250,000 bond. But before he walked out of Brooklyn Federal Court, Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom had delivered a stern lecture.

"This is a very serious crime, Mr. Hogan," Bloom said. "It's a disgrace to the Fire Department that these charges were leveled."

Hogan said nothing as he left the courthouse, wearing his father's long-sleeve shirt over his twin towers T-shirt.

According to court papers, Hogan first made chat room contact on March 8 with the person he thought was a teen.

The undercover, using the screen name cuteashley, posed as a 14-year-old girl. Hogan responded from a computer at Engine 237 in Bushwick that he had read her profile, which also indicated she was 14, authorities said.

A crew from the NBC-TV show "Dateline" was filming the sting operation with Perverted Justice when Hogan allegedly sent the lurid video image of himself, the complaint says.

Hogan allegedly told cuteashley he wanted to meet her, and engaged in explicit conversation about various sex acts they could perform together.

A second adult volunteer also posing as the girl called Hogan on his cell phone and gave him an address, officials said. Hogan later said he drove past the house but did not stop because he had spotted a police car outside, authorities said.

Perverted Justice contacted the Fire Department, and an investigation was launched. The firehouse computer and a computer in the Long Island home of Hogan's parents were seized.

"The defendant, as a firefighter, breached the public trust by attempting to victimize a member of the community whom he was trained to protect," said Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf.

People in Hogan's hometown of Massapequa, L.I., were stunned by the allegations. "This is totally out of character," said neighbor Lucille Scavone.