Brazil man facing Level 4 felony charge in child solicitation case

Christopher Brown

A 34-year-old Clay County man, allegedly hoping to hook up with a minor girl Sunday evening in Greencastle, finds himself in jail, facing 2-12 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine in a child solicitation case.

Christopher Steve Brown, Brazil, was arrested after attempting to meet up with a 14-year-old female decoy at the Walmart Supercenter when the teenage “Katie” ended up being a representative of the Indianapolis Predator Catchers group who had corresponded with Brown over the social media application Skout Meet.

Appearing before Judge Mathew Headley in Putnam Circuit Court, Brown entered a not-guilty plea Monday and had local attorney Trudy Selvia appointed as his public defender.

Held at the Putnam County Jail on $25,000 cash-only bond, Brown will have a Dec. 5 pretrial conference as he faces a Level 4 felony count of child solicitation to engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual conduct.

According to the probable cause affidavit in the case, Greencastle Police Sgt. Zach Rhine was called to the Walmart store where dispatch reported that a two-member team from the Predator Catchers group was “working a sting operation and in the process of setting up a meet with a male named Chris.”

The Predator Catchers were livestreaming from near the electronics department as Rhine waited in his squad car for a sign things had escalated into criminal behavior.

Brown allegedly asked the would-be victim to come out to the front of the store, where he had parked his white Chrysler to the left of the front doors, only to have Sgt. Rhine swoop in and block his vehicle in.

Brown had reportedly texted his victim with the notion that “walking around Walmart with a 14-year-old is so obvious.”

The suspect was advised to put his hands on the steering wheel as Rhine awaited another officer, Justin Herd, to take Brown into custody and transport him to GPD to meet with Det. Matt Huffman.

Advising that he was “just an Uber driver” and that his cellphone had been hacked, Brown said he had gone to Walmart to buy laundry detergent and was surrounded by police officers as he was getting ready to leave.

Speaking to representatives of the Predator Catchers, Sgt. Rhine was shown “extensive texts and messaging history” in which Brown was told “Katie” was only 14 yet asked her to participate in a number of sex acts.

“The messages continued to paint a picture of Mr. Brown’s intentions,” the probable cause affidavit noted, “as he messaged about the different sexual acts he planned.”

In his report, Det. Huffman said Brown advised wanting a quick hook-up but told her he had more time to spend with her after calling in to work that he wasn’t going to be there and “suggesting other sexual things he was wanting to do with her.”

Brown reportedly advised that she “needed to make it worth his while to stay up here (in Greencastle) and call off work.”

He admitted to the detective that he asked her to send him nude photos.

“I asked,” Brown said in the police report, “but I didn’t really want them.”

The Brown case is the second local arrest in four months with help from the child predator tracking group. Back on June 2, a 27-year-old Fillmore man was arrested at the Speedway East gasoline station after he reportedly responded to an online decoy -- another supposed 14-year-old girl -- in an account set up by the Indiana-based organization.