The Westerbeck Story: "A Predator's Compulsion"

In September of 2005, Kevin Westerbeck, who was 46 years old, was accused of sexually abusing a family member in Montgomery County. While his case was pending in Montgomery County, Ohio, Westerbeck solicited a 13 year olf female on the Internet who resided in Greene County, Ohio and made plans to meet her. The 13 year old female turned out to be a Xenia Police Officer and Westerbeck was arrested when he showed up to meet her.

In March of 2006, Westerbeck pled guilty to Attempted Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Importuning on a Thursday and was expected to show up on the following Monday to be sentenced in Greene County. The weekend before his sentencing, on Saturday, Westerbeck again decided to go trolling on the Internet for a child victim. He found one. This time, Westerbeck drove to Greenville, Darke County, Ohio, to meet another 13 year old female. The 13 year old female turned out to be Dateline NBC's Chris Hansen and Westerbeck had been caught in Dateline's "To Catch a Predator" series.

Instead of appreciating the gravity of charges to which he had pled guilty in Greene County, as well as the serious charges still pending against him in Montgomery County, Westerbeck continued with his compulsive behavior to engage in sexual conduct with minor females.

Westerbeck is a prime example of why it is so important to be vigilant of when and how often your children are on the computer and what web sites they are visiting. Westerbeck was not only offending against young female family members, he was bold enough to meet young girls on the Internet and arrange meetings with them.