SUFFOLK, Va. — Christopher Paul Hetherington, a 33-year-old Lieutenant in the Navy, was taken into custody on Dec. 21 after investigators say he tried to meet with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He is currently being held at Western Tidewater Regional Jail.
A complaint filed against Hetherington cites two counts: attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and attempted production of child pornography.
Hetherington is stationed on the USS ROSS, homeported in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to the filed affidavit.
The affidavit, written by affiant NCIS Special Agent Lisa Carroll, states the following:
- NCIS, the Norfolk Police Department and HIS conducted an operation in October that investigated those who “engaged in sexual online enticement of minors.”
- Special Agent Carroll posted on Whisper, a social networking app, a message that a user, Hetherington, replied to. Carroll then messaged him back stating that she was in ninth grade. He then asked for her Snapchat or Wickr information, and he added her on Snapchat.
- Carroll, posing as a high schooler, and Hetherington continued communicating via Snapchat even after she told him she was 14 years old. He asked for pictures, including one of her flipping off the camera to make sure that she was “not a cop.” He also asked for sexually explicit pictures of her.
- As the two continued messaging, Hetherington asked to meet in person and sent messages with explicit, and sometimes sexually explicit, language.
Following an administrative summons to Snapchat for Hetherington’s account information, an administrative summons to Verizon for his subscriber information and database searches, Special Agent Carroll wrote the affidavit, a complaint and arrest warrant were issued, and Hetherington was taken into custody.
The Navy provided the following response regarding Hetherington:
“Lieutenant Christopher Hetherington, assigned to USS Ross (DDG 71), was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service Dec. 21, 2022, and is currently pending a hearing.
We are aware of the situation and are cooperating fully with local and federal authorities.”
Hetherington is scheduled to appear in court at the U.S. District Courthouse on Granby Street on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
This is an ongoing investigation, according to NCIS. Stay with News 3 for updates.
