Area man accused of sex crime with minor

1/12/2005

Jerry Lee Hackett dropped by Southwyck Shopping Center Monday, police said, for a tryst with a 13-year-old boy.

What he met instead was about 15 undercover police officers and the possibility of a five-year prison sentence.

Hackett, 37, of 15242 West State Rt. 2 in Ottawa County's Benton Township, was being held last night in the Lucas County jail in lieu of $50,000 bond after being arraigned yesterday before visiting Judge Judson P. Spore in Toledo Municipal Court. The restaurant cook was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Police said the boy's father last week found material in his son's room that indicated he was meeting men online. He called police, and the boy told investigators he'd had several affairs, including one with Hackett, whom he said he had met in November through an Internet chat room, according to Sgt. George Kral, of the Toledo police special victims unit.

"He admitted he met five guys on the Internet and slept with all of them," Sergeant Kral said.

Detectives convinced the boy, while he was sitting in the detectives' office, to call Hackett, and they arranged a meeting.

When Hackett arrived Monday near the entrance of Dillard's at Southwyck, officers emerged from surrounding stores. Hackett was placed under arrest and later "made admissions corroborating the boy's story, " Sergeant Kral said.