Former News Anchor Arrested In Porn Sting

The Palm Springs Police Department on Thursday announced it had arrested James Philbrick, 43, and two other men in connection with a child-sex sting organized with the group Perverted-Justice.com.
The group, which has been featured on national TV's "Dateline" for targeting men seeking to arrange sexual rendezvous with children.
As reported on www.thedesertsun.com, Philbrick, until January the anchorman for Coachella Valley NBC affiliate KMIR, was arrested March 29 and accused of attempted lewd acts on a child under 14 and attempted oral copulation on a child under 14.
He is free on $50,000 bail, police said.
John Patrick Dolan, Philbrick's attorney, said his client is innocent and thought he was role-playing with an adult in a gay men's chat room targeted by the group.
Dolan called the arrest the result of an "obvious misunderstanding."
The Palm Springs police became involved with the online group after seeing a news report on its work luring adults into child-sex arrest stings.
The Perverted-Justice group has been featured in dozens of news articles and programs, including the nationally televised newsmagazine "Dateline NBC."
Sgt. Mitch Spike said officers visited the site and found volunteers, called contributors, and posed as underage children engaging in chats with some area men.
"Officers from our Crime Suppression Team started looking on the Web site and saw names from our local area," Spike said.
"They decided to get in touch with people from the Web site," Spike said.
The police report stated that on March 22, a contributor posing as a 13-year-old boy was contacted by a Palm Springs man later identified as Philbrick.
The report stated that the man sent the contributor lewd pictures and discussed an interest in having sex.
After two days of online chatting, the man agreed to meet at a Palm Springs hotel with the contributor, who was still posing as an underage boy, the report stated.
Palm Springs police then selected an employee to pose as a boy at the hotel, police said.
On March 29, Philbrick arrived at the hotel but drove off after seeing the police employee, the report stated. Philbrick was subsequently arrested during a traffic stop.
Dolan said Philbrick's situation is unique because the online contributors in this case entered a chat room aimed at adult gay men.
Dolan said online stings usually occur after a suspect arranges to meet someone they find on Web sites oriented toward younger people.
"My client was in a legitimate adult male gay chat room," Dolan said.
As evidence, he said Philbrick left the scene of the hotel after seeing the "young-ish" person who had arrived for the meeting.
"His thinking was this is just people who were role playing on this legitimate adult men's chat room," Dolan said. "Once he realized that wasn't the situation he turned around and drove home."
Perverted-Justice founder Xavier Von Erck disputed Dolan's contention. Von Erck said the Web site's contributors don't initiate online solicitations for sex.
"We never approach anyone first," Von Erck said. "We are just getting them before they can act."
Philbrick was an anchor for Coachella Valley NBC affiliate KMIR from 2002 until January, according to a spokesman for the company that owns the station. Before that he worked for local CBS affiliate, KPSP.
Also arrested separately in the local child sex stings were Wesley Brannen, 24, of Azusa and Jerone Basa, 35, of San Gabriel, according to police.
Both men were lured into meeting people posing as 13-year-old girls, the report stated.
from The Desert Sun