VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Virginia Beach Police are looking for minors who may have communicated with a man arrested in connection with a federal sex crimes case.
In August, detectives with the Virginia Beach Police Department's (VBPD) Special Investigations Bureau acted on a tip they received from investigators in Florida and began an undercover investigation of a man who was using the Kik messenger app to communicate with underage girls.
The suspect was identified as Brett Andrews of Virginia Beach.According to LinkedIn, he is the president of Caledonia Contractors.
While chatting on Kik, police say Andrews solicited an undercover detective, who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, to perform sexual acts on herself. He also sent nude photos of himself to the undercover detective.
On December 14, with help from the VBPD Special Operations Bureau and the United States Department of Homeland Security, VBPD detectives took Andrews into custody and executed a search warrant at his home. He was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals, where he was held under the federal charges of Persuade, Induce, Entice or Coerce a Child to Engage in Sexual Activity and Transfer of Obscene Material to a Child Under the Age of 16 Years Old.
“At this point we are still evaluating the merits of these charges and conducting an investigation into the allegations," Andrews' attorney, Brian M. Latuga, said in a statement to News 3 on December 17.
Based on what Andrews admitted to authorities, police say they have reason to believe he had inappropriate and illegal interactions with minors in Virginia Beach. Anyone with information is asked to come forward and contact the Special Investigations Bureau at 757 427-1749 or the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (1-888-562-5887).
This case remains under active investigation.
