Fire Captain Arrested In Sex Sting

Police: 55-Year-Old Wanted Sex With 'Very Young' Girl
By Nicole E. Matthews, News Editor

POSTED: 5:34 pm PST March 1, 2010
UPDATED: 7:44 am PST March 2, 2010

HENDERSON, Nev. -- A Clark County Fire Captain was arrested and charged with using technology to lure a minor after a Henderson police sting.

Martin Vohwinkel, 55, was arrested by Henderson police Friday after police said they found him in a location where he had set up a meeting with a minor.

An undercover detective said he had been communicating with a man who posted an ad on Craigslist.com looking for a “casual encounter” with a “very young girl,” according to the Henderson Police Department arrest report.

The detective said after he sent a brief e-mail response to the ad, the ad’s writer immediately contacted him to acknowledge he had placed the ad and said in an explicit way that he was looking for sex with a young girl, stating “the younger the better.”

The detective said he then told the man that he was a 14-year-old girl, after which the man said he was 45 and that he needed the girl “ASAP.” Vohwinkel sent a naked photo to the detective and then said in his next e-mail that he was “horny,” and asked for a photo, the report said.

The man sent another photo of himself in a firefighter uniform with his face clearly displayed and said he was a local firefighter named Marty, the report said.

The report said the man then said he wanted to bring “chronic” marijuana with him to the meeting with the girl, where he explicitly said he wanted to have sex with her, and he repeatedly asked for naked pictures of her.

A date for the two to meet was scheduled, and the man told the detective posing as a girl to look for his white Toyota Tundra. When the vehicle pulled into the meeting place, police said they saw a firefighter sticker on it. They said they matched the truck’s plate and registration to Vohwinkel.

Police said they also called a cell phone number given by the man who set up the meeting, and Vohwinkel’s phone rang.

The report said Vohwinkel ‘s e-mail address matched the one being used by the man, and Vohwinkel told police he made a mistake. He was transported to Henderson jail.

“The charge that he's accused of we take very seriously,” said Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison. “We don't tolerate this. We will not tolerate it.”

Vohwinkel was released on bond and is suspended without pay. Allison said he will remain on unpaid administrative leave while the investigation continues.

Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said Vohwinkel makes $240,366.62 in pay and benefits and that last year, he made $233,581.71 in pay and benefits.

“If he's convicted of this felony, he will no longer be employed by the Clark County Fire Department,” Allison said.

From: http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/22710365/detail.html#