VCU Police Chief Willie B. Fuller only could shake his head as Judge Edward A. Robbins Jr. read the charges including lascivious intent and use of a communication system to solicit sex from a minor under the age of 15. The courtroom watched Fuller on a projection screen behind the judge’s bench. Fuller, VCU police chief since 2000, now faces four felony charges.
Fuller, 50, lived alone on the 9000 block of Meadowfield Court in Henrico County where Chesterfield police say he was chatting online with a 14-year-old girl under the screen name “Hotcop2006”. Unbeknown to Fuller, the girl was actually an undercover Chesterfield police officer. Authorities said Fuller told the officer he was in his 30s. The investigation started Jan.10.
Authorities said although Fuller never tried to meet the girl, he requested pictures of her genitalia. Fuller was arrested Jan. 28.
“There is nothing particularly different about this one (case),” said prosecuting attorney David Rigler. Rigler estimates that between 25 and 30 people are arrested annually in Virginia for similar offenses. Rigler said the only difference with this case is the defendant’s stature in the community. Convictions in these cases typically include a sentence of five years in jail and up to 30 years in a state correctional facility on first offense.
“I’m glad that a possible predator was stopped from preying on children,” said Lt. Mike Harmony, Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children task force commander. “That ís just one would-be predator that we’ve been able to stop.”
Harmony said he hopes people keep in mind that there are many more predators in the commonwealth.
“There are literally hundreds of people out there on a day-to-day basis that are engaged in illegal behavior when it comes to child sexual exploitation,” Harmony said.
“We regard this situation as extremely serious,” stated VCU President Eugene P. Trani in his e-mail alert to the VCU community. “We have taken aggressive action to address it, and we will cooperate in all appropriate ways with the Chesterfield County Police investigation.”
John M. Bennett, senior vice president for finance and administration, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that VCU instituted a policy of criminal background checks since Fuller has been at VCU and he knew of no prior complaints against Fuller.
Fuller has Internet profiles on both Facebook and MySpace. On his MySpace page, Fuller posted a message Saturday stating: “Life is a series of ups and downs. I have been blessed my entire life, but the last month has been a series of letdowns by people I thought were important to
me.”
Fuller told Judge Robbins that he plans to seek legal representation from defense lawyer Arnold Henderson. Fuller has been placed on administrative leave without pay. According to Chesterfield county sheriff Dennis Proffit, Fuller was released on a $10,000 bail Friday under the condition that he not use the internet. Captain Carlton Edwards was named acting police chief.
Fullerís trial is scheduled for April 2.