• Conviction - FOTOPHIX - Naples, Florida

    - Chatlog Conviction -
    File originally posted on 1/16/2008 5:50 AM PST [Link to File]
    Report made 1/16/2008 5:50 AM PST

    FOTOPHIX [02:42 PM]: dont like typin about you got a cell
    14-year-old boy [02:42 PM]: ya lemme find it
    14-year-old boy [02:42 PM]: ill give u the # if u send ur pic lol
    14-year-old boy [02:43 PM]: that shit never work for me u gotta email it im sorry
    FOTOPHIX [02:43 PM]: ok
    FOTOPHIX [02:43 PM]: Instant Images invitation canceled.
    14-year-old boy [02:45 PM]: u there?
    FOTOPHIX [02:46 PM]: yeah trying to figure out to send u pic im not to good on these
    14-year-old boy [02:46 PM]: o ok lol if u click n drag the pic into the email box where u type itll go in there
    14-year-old boy [02:47 PM]: u see how?
    FOTOPHIX [02:48 PM]: sent
    FOTOPHIX [02:48 PM]: u home alone
    14-year-old boy [02:48 PM]: yah
    FOTOPHIX [02:48 PM]: can you go out
    14-year-old boy [02:49 PM]: ya sure
    14-year-old boy [02:49 PM]: kewl pic man whoz the kid? lol

    I guess he thinks soliciting a young kid in text is less dangerous than talking about oral on the phone. He was wrong. And yes, it's very disturbing with a guy goes trolling around for dangerous sexual meetings with a picture of his young son on his profile.

    Clifford Wallach is a man that most everyone who follows what we do remembers. It's been replayed quite a bit on NBC, with Frag intoning \"oh no\" in that familiar way. Wallach is the Fort Myers predator who brought his young son along to meet what he thought was an underage male for sex. A very disturbing case.

    Wallach thought that he'd go to trial and beat the charges. Wallach, like all predators who think that, was wrong. Convicted quickly, Wallach is still awaiting sentencing. He will be sentenced on January 28th, 2008. We're hoping for a good sentence for this disturbing predator.

    Contributor notes from Don Pedro
    Like I said in the chat log for this scumbag, I have been waiting quite a while for this case to be resolved. You may remember Clifford Wallach from Dateline: Fort Myers - he was the asshat who brought his young son with him to a sexual liaison with a 14-year-old boy. As you can see, the chat was not very long; Wallach was incredibly guarded online. I figured he might open up on the phone and had Del Harvey do the verification. Wallach admitted to Del on the phone exactly what he wanted to do. There was no need to have Wallach go back online to type exactly what he wanted, as the calls were being recorded by the FDLE.

    I would like it known that at no time did anyone know that Wallach was going to bring his young son to the house. He did not say a word to me in the chat and did not mention it to Del on the phone. It was a complete and utter shock to everyone at the house when, after getting out of his Blazer, Wallach went to the back seat to retrieve his son (and not a case of beer or something similar, which is what many of us thought while watching the scene unfold.) I would like to commend Chris Hansen for handling the situation as he did, and also commend the law enforcement on site for limiting the young boy's exposure to his father's arrest.

    For those of you who are wondering the status of the young boy - last I heard, he was not living with either of his parents. He was taken from both of them after Wallach's arrest; Wallach's wife decided to stick by him during this so the kid was placed with other guardians - more responsible guardians, most likely.

    Wallach decided not to plead guilty and take his chances with a jury trial. Del and I traveled to Fort Myers and testified - Del on the phone calls and myself on the chat log. The trial took a day and a half. After three hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict on both counts.

    I would like to extend gratitude to Del Harvey - without her verifying talents, Wallach may have not felt comfortable enough spilling his true intentions. I would also like to thank the law enforcement that we worked with in Ft. Myers - their professionalism and dedication cannot be overstated. Thanks are also due to the State Attorney's office in Ft. Myers - their dedication to this case insured that a guilty verdict would be returned.


    This is our 264th conviction since June of 2004 and our 2nd conviction for 2008 thus far.