Cops: Man tried to arrange sex with girl
Walter Hurst was charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, third-degree possession of a controlled substance and second-degree criminal solicitation. (May 11, 2012) Credit: Howard Schnapp
A Bay Shore man was arrested Thursday night in a sting operation after he planned to trade painkillers for what he thought would be sex with a 12-year-old girl at a Hicksville motel, Nassau County police said.
Instead of a girl, Walter Hurst, 57, was met by police detectives, who found him with Nesquik chocolate milk, lollipops and Gummi Bear candy, court records show.
"There never was a 12-year-old. The only thing he was going to encounter at that hotel," said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith, were "narcotics/vice squad members, all about 6-foot-3, who look like middle linebackers."
At an arraignment Friday afternoon, Hurst was ordered jailed without bail on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal solicitation and criminal sale of a controlled substance. He had planned to trade 10 oxycodone pills and use the anti-anxiety medicine Ativan "to relax the child," records show.
The probe began during an unrelated drug case, when Hurst told someone he had a "proclivity" for sex with girls younger than 12, said Smith, head of the police narcotics/vice bureau. Police changed course, focusing the investigation on Hurst pursuing sex with a minor, police said.
Police wouldn't elaborate on the person who told detectives about Hurst's desire for young girls. Hurst was arrested about three days after he became the focus of the investigation, at 828 S. Oyster Bay Rd.
Chief of Detectives John R. Capece said investigators are looking into whether Hurst ever had molested a child.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 21 Massapequa, Miller Place wrestling champs Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks about Massapequa and Miller Place wrestling teams winning state dual meet championships and Jonathan Ruban takes a look at the undefeated Northport girls basketball team.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 21 Massapequa, Miller Place wrestling champs Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks about Massapequa and Miller Place wrestling teams winning state dual meet championships and Jonathan Ruban takes a look at the undefeated Northport girls basketball team.
