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He thought he had found a father willing to share his seven-year-old son.
Instead, he found an undercover cop.
What began as a disturbing online conversation in Boise, Idaho, quickly developed into a federal child exploitation investigation that would ultimately put Terry Benjamin Ellinger behind bars for 13½ years.
Over several months, Ellinger engaged in increasingly disturbing conversations with someone he believed shared his interest in the sexual exploitation of children. But the person on the other end of those messages wasn't who Ellinger thought he was.
And every conversation was bringing investigators closer to the man behind the screen.
In this episode of CatFish Cops, we take you inside the investigation, from the undercover conversations and digital evidence to Ellinger's identification, arrest, admissions, and eventual federal conviction.
What was Ellinger willing to reveal to a complete stranger? How did investigators connect the online conversations to the man behind the keyboard? And what ultimately led to a 162-month federal prison sentence and lifetime supervised release?
Join us as we pull back the curtain on another disturbing case that demonstrates the dedication, patience, and determination of the men and women investigating internet crimes against children.
He thought anonymity would protect him. He thought he was talking to someone just like himself. He was wrong.
This is CatFish Cops — where the predators never know who's really on the other end of the conversation.
