Man charged in Norfolk with plotting child's rape

NORFOLK

A local man facing charges that he plotted to kidnap a boy and rape him was ordered jailed without bond Thursday in U.S. District Court.

Alan Paul Strieper, 24, was arrested last Friday on a sealed complaint charging him with enticing another man to travel here to kidnap a boy - any boy - for the purpose of raping him. Strieper is also charged with possessing child pornography.

A Navy spokesman said Strieper, a petty officer 2nd class, serves aboard the Norfolk-based amphibious transport dock San Antonio, has been in the service since 2004 and was working as an information systems technician.

Strieper was arrested as part of a sting operation involving an undercover federal informant. According to the complaint, unsealed Monday, Strieper began an online chat with the undercover operative in November that culminated with a plot to kidnap a boy.

On those Internet chats between the two, Strieper is heard professing his desire for boys as young as 2, the complaint says.

On Dec. 1, the chats had turned to thoughts of kidnapping.

"Have you ever thought of just grabbing a nice cutie that is walking home from school or something?" Strieper is quoted asking the informant.

"If your flexible you could fly here and then we can drive to a town like 45 min away or something like that," Strieper said the following day, according to the complaint.

The two arranged to meet in Norfolk on Feb. 5. When Strieper went to the airport, federal agents arrested him.

In court Thursday, Strieper and his attorney waived his right to a bond hearing and U.S. Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman ordered Strieper jailed pending grand jury action.

Strieper said little during the appearance, answering "Yes, sir" to the judge's questions.

His attorney, Walter Dalton, an assistant federal public defender, declined to comment afterward.

Strieper was snagged as part of an ongoing investigation out of the Boston office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Federal agents were monitoring a chat room dedicated to discussions among people interested in young boys.

Strieper and the undercover informant began chatting on Nov. 22. At one point, Strieper mentioned having duct tape and a camera.

After making the final arrangements to meet, Strieper wrote, "I can't wait to rape a little boy!" the papers say.

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com