Crime & Safety
Palo Alto Man Suspected Of Child Porn Possession, Sex Offenses
Police said the case began with an undercover operation last month in Georgia after a man spoke to an officer posing as a 12 year old.
![During multiple online chats over several days, the suspect allegedly solicited the detective for explicit images.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/23785744/20240412/081337/styles/patch_image/public/cuffs___12201323993.jpg)
PALO ALTO, CA — An undercover investigation that began last month in Georgia led to the arrest on Thursday of a 67-year-old Palo Alto man suspected of possessing child pornography and trying to meet up with a minor to have sex, authorities said.
Robert Kinney Wenzlau, was arrested about 10:45 a.m. at his home in the 1400 block of Dana Avenue, where police also served a search warrant.
Palo Alto police were alerted March 5 by the sheriff's office in Burke County, Georgia about a man who had used a mobile app to correspond with an undercover officer posing as a 12-year-old girl.
Find out what's happening in Palo Altowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The suspect said he was 55 and gave his cell phone number, and then allegedly used it to send photos of himself and later child sexual abuse material to the officer, according to police.
Authorities determined the owner of the cell phone number was a 67-year-old man living in Palo Alto. Then, Palo Alto detectives created their own undercover account using the same mobile app, posing as a 12-year-old girl.
Find out what's happening in Palo Altowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Four days later, Wenzlau found the Palo Alto undercover account in the app and allegedly began to correspond with the undercover detective and send photos of himself, police said in a news release on Thursday.
During multiple online chats over several days, the suspect allegedly solicited the detective for explicit images, sent child sexual abuse material to the detective on multiple occasions, and made arrangements to meet them in person with the intent to perform sex acts (though the physical meeting never occurred).
Authorities didn't name the mobile app that was allegedly used by the suspect, saying it was part of an ongoing investigation.
Wenzlau, who sits on a Palo Alto stormwater committee, was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.
He was charged by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office with four felonies: contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex offense, attempted lewd act on a child under 14, possession of child pornography, and transmitting harmful matter to a person believed to be a minor. He was also charged with a misdemeanor -- arranging a meeting with a person believed to be a minor to engage in lewd behavior.
Police said it's possible that Wenzlau allegedly victimized others. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Palo Alto Police Department at the dispatch center at (650) 329-2413.
Parents interested in learning more about how to keep their children safe online can visit the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program website at www.svicac.org.
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