Michael O'Connor used Motherless.com much like other people use Facebook. He set up a profile, messaged other users and uploaded pictures. The pictures, though, were not of him.
In May, O'Connor came across a profile he liked. It was of a 31-year-old woman who listed her interests as incest and molesting her own daughter. According to court documents, the 35-year-old Dallas resident sent the woman a message: "Do you want to be my dirty breeding cum bucket baby girl that daddy wants to make his incest family with?"
Soon after, O'Connor sent another message. "Make it so your only goal in life is to have my babies ... and you will teach our daughters that too." The woman didn't respond, so he sent another one. "I know I just messaged you. I would really like to get to know you."
O'Connor waited a couple days. No response. Until this popped up on his computer: "Mmm, you sound nasty ... I would love to get to know you." An email address accompanied the message.
He fired off an email. He told the woman he had a "dark taboo side" and is "attracted to girls 3 to 10 and 8 is the magic age for me physically," according to court documents. The woman responded that she had a 6-year-old daughter named Lexi.
They continued to talk that day, mostly on Yahoo! Messenger. O'Connor told the woman he wanted to be her daughter's "first dick" and that the youngest girl he'd been with was 14. He also described a time when, while working at a restaurant, he saw a toddler bent over. He stared at her underwear.
O'Connor then sent the woman jpegs of prepubescent girls, one of which appeared to be under 5 years old. He had been convicted of possessing child porn in 2009 and of sexual assault of a child in 2010, but he must have thought this felony -- transporting child porn -- had gone unnoticed. Then, about two weeks after he sent the images, agents from the Department of Homeland Security showed up at his door.
The woman on Motherless.com was actually an undercover cop. Working from his computer in Nebraska, the officer was trying to identify people who distribute child porn. He had found O'Connor through his IP address.
On July 6, O'Connor signed a plea agreement. He is yet to be sentenced, but he could face up to 40 years in prison.
Send your story tips to the author, Sky Chadde.