Idaho cop posing as a 13-year-old girl helped N.S. police lay child porn and luring charges: ‘With the internet, there are no boundaries’

Note: This story contains details that readers will find disturbing.

An Idaho cop posing as a 13-year-old girl named Payslee Clark helped police lay charges in a Nova Scotia child pornography investigation.

It was just before 5 p.m. on July 3, 2023, when Det. Samuel Kuoha of the Rupert City Police in Minedoka County went undercover online as a young girl.

The Gem State detective got a private message on the MeWe social networking service from someone whose account bore the name fred_williams.

“‘Payslee’ informed ‘fred_williams’ that her age was 13 years old several times throughout the conversation,” RCMP Const. Daniel Howie said in an application for a search warrant in the case.

Wanted photos

The undercover cop posing as Payslee told him that she’d been sexually abused in the past and that her abuser had taken photos.

“Fred_williams’ attempted to obtain self-generated child sex abuse materials from ‘Payslee,’” Howie said.

He told the undercover officer posing as a young teen that he lived on the East Coast of the United States.

On July 18, 2023, he “sent ‘Payslee’ approximately nine images of what appeared to be minor females” exposing their private parts, according to information to obtain a warrant filed at Truro provincial court.

Kuoha estimated the girls in the photos were between the ages of 10 and 13.

“In return, ‘fred_williams’ requested ‘Payslee’ send an image of her shoulders exposed, which Det. Kuoha sent. Shortly after, ‘fred_williams sent ‘Payslee’ a video link which showed a minor female, approximately 10-12 years old, masturbating,” Howie said.

‘Real name for sexy pic?’

The cop posing as Payslee asked if his username on MeWe was his real name.

“‘Fred_Williams’ confirmed it was not and the name Fred is used as a joke; ‘Payslee’ asked for ‘fred_williams’ real name and ‘fred_williams’ said, ‘real name for a sexy pic?’”

He kept trying to obtain photos of Payslee, “in exchange for his real name,” Howie said, “and eventually said, ‘Call me Laurie, and legs and panties are sexy (too) if they are allowed.”

The officer posing as a young girl asked fred_williams if he cared about their age difference, said the investigator.

“Nope, I probably should but I don’t. I want to talk to nice people, no matter what their age,” was his response.

‘I’m a little in love with you’

When asked if he likes to watch young girls, he said: “I do like teens, find them innocent and sexy.”

Two days later, he said: “Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a little in love with you. You drive me crazy when I can’t talk to you each day. I miss you like crazy.”

Howie reviewed 13 chat logs between the middle-aged man who thought he was corresponding with a young girl.

“During the course of the conversations there was some general chatting however a majority of the chat logs contained sexually explicit conversation which included ‘fred_williams’ requesting sexual photos, wondering sexual interests and wondering sexual experiences of ‘Payslee.’”

Clues led to Canada 

As their online conversation continued, the man calling himself fred_williams began deleting parts of it to cover his tracks.

The man going by fred_williams asked ‘Payslee’ if they could communicate via text message instead of using the MeWe platform, then he stopped using the latter all together.

The Idaho detective got a warrant for the MeWe account, which eventually led him to a female Bell Canada customer living on the Truro Heights Connector Road.

Police here were able to determine that a 49-year-old man named Laurie Whidden, who lived at the same address, had been previously “arrested, charged and convicted” after an earlier child luring and child pornography investigation.

‘Hide any data’

He was “now using (virtual private network) software to avoid detection by police,” Howie said, describing that technology as “like a special tunnel on the internet that can hide any data that you send or receive,” as well as make it appear that you are online at another location.

The Mountie reviewed Whidden’s parole records, learning he’d been released from Dorchester Penitentiary in July 2022 and had restrictions on pornography and accessing the internet.

“Whidden was in his late 40s at the time of his first-time federal offence,” Howie said, noting a judge sentenced him to four years for arranging sexual offences against a child, as well as publishing and distributing child pornography.

That April 2021 sentencing took place in Labrador City, where according to Whidden’s LinkedIn, he worked with the Iron Ore Company of Canada from 2005 until he lost his job as an engineer after being charged the first time.

Thousands of images 

A tip to the RCMP’s national child exploitation co-ordination centre in that case led to an investigation where police discovered he was sharing child pornography online.

Police searched Whidden’s electronic devices, seizing about 8,700 photos and 60 videos that met the definition of child pornography, Howie said.

“Police also located explicit chat logs where Whidden discussed making and selling child pornography and attempted to obtain sexual services of a person under 18 years of age,” said the investigator, assigned to the Nova Scotia Child Exploitation Unit.

“Whidden also had underage females send photos and videos in exchange for money.”

20-year internet ban

Before that, Whidden had no criminal record, Howie said, noting his first prison sentence doesn’t officially end until April 2025.

Whidden, a registered sex offender, “was currently entered into 20-year order of prohibition … to not use the internet or other digital networks except for purposes of employment.”

After conducting surveillance of his suspect, Howie convinced a judge to grant a search warrant for Whidden’s home and truck, with plans to go through his electronic devices looking for evidence of the exchanges with the Idaho undercover officer pretending to be a young girl.

Investigators detained three mobile phones and a computer thumb drive during their Nov. 16, 2023, search of Whidden’s home on the Truro Heights Connector Road.

Police arrested Whidden that same day, charging him with possession of child pornography, distributing child pornography, luring a child by means of telecommunication, making sexually explicit material available to a child, agreement to commit an offence against a child, and failure to comply with his internet prohibition.

Whidden is scheduled to appear in Truro provincial court Feb. 28 for election and/or plea.

‘Shooting fish in a barrel’

In an interview Tuesday, Kuoha said that he’s investigated several other similar cases in Canada, Great Britain and Australia.

“With the internet, there are no boundaries,” he said.

“Literally, sometimes it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. It’s just that easy because there are just so many offenders on the internet.”

There are ways to mask your identity online, he said. “But the key is to look for the chinks in the armour. Not everybody is going to be 100 per cent perfect all the time.”

It doesn’t take long for him to attract attention while posing online as an underage teen. “It’s usually between 30 seconds and five minutes before an offender is speaking to us.”

‘Very convincing’

A police officer for almost 18 years, Kuoha said it’s different tracking pedophiles outside of his jurisdiction.

“Usually if they’re here locally, I’m the one that gets to put the handcuffs on them,” he said.

“But our philosophy is that if an individual is willing to abuse a child across the world, it doesn’t matter. My agency will do what it has to, outside of flying me to another country, to find these individuals.”

There’s no question in his mind that Whidden believed he was a 13-year-old girl.

“I have yet to actually find somebody that did not think that I was anything other than what I was telling them,” Kuoha said.

“We have tactics and techniques to be able to show that we are an actual live child that are very convincing.”

‘It’s about the kids’

Police leadership in his town of 6,500 people doesn’t question Kuoha on why he’s looking for child predators outside his jurisdiction.

“They understand the importance of going after these individuals that are preying on kids because eventually they’re going to get to one of our own kids,” Kuoha said. “They’re like, go get ’em. It’s about the kids, it’s not about the size of our jurisdiction.”

The 53-year-old father and grandfather has one tip for parents worried about their children falling prey to online predators: monitor their social media use closely.

“We aren’t providing the right guidance and the right supervision for kids,” Kuoha said.

“Some of these guys, and women frankly, are so good at manipulating these kids that they literally can mould these kids into what they want them to be. They need somebody else to counter that and provide the right guidance.”