BLOOMINGTON — A man faces a child exploitation charge for allegedly driving from Indianapolis to Bloomington to meet with who he believed was a 15-year-old wanting sex.
Instead, 52-year-old Curt Dittmaier was met by police and is charged with child exploitation, a level 4 felony.
According to court documents, a Bloomington Police detective began talking with a user on an online dating website who posted an advertisement searching for 18 to 50 year olds. The user and the detective began emailing before switching to text message.
At one point, the detective posing as a teenager wrote, “I should probably be honest and tell u I’m 15. Hope that’s okay?” Court documents state the user never acknowledge the message, but continued the conversation.
Later, the decoy and the user swapped pictures, who police confirmed was Dittmaier.
The conversation then allegedly became sexual, and Dittmaier reportedly admitted to sneaking into meeting a young girl online several years ago.
“I remember quite a few years ago I met a young girl online and went down to her house on the west side and actually snuck in her bedroom window while her family was home and asleep,” court documents state Dittmaier texted the decoy. “Crazy? Yup. But it was also so incredibly exciting,”
At one point, Dittmaier reportedly asked what alcohol the girl would like to drink, and, shortly after, Dittmaier said he would buy the alcohol and travel to Bloomington.
During the text exchanges, however, police said Dittmaier became more suspicious of if he was talking to police and not a 15 year old.
“I’m not trying to get caught up in some police reverse sting stuff or end up on the news,” Dittmaier texted.
The conversation between Dittmaier and the decoy allegedly continued late into the night, before Dittmaier said he was on the way to Bloomington with the alcohol and was ready to meet.
Court documents state Dittmaier said he was “in the area” in a “dark blue car,” but got nervous he was being followed. Police in undercover vehicles had located him in a blue Tesla.
Eventually, police said the conversation ended when Dittmaier stopped responding to the decoy. Detectives requested the officers conduct a traffic stop, where Dittmaier was taken into custody.
According to court documents, Dittmaier never asked why he was being taken to the police department for questioning, and when asked why he was traveling to Bloomington, Dittmaier reportedly asked for his attorney.
He has an initial hearing scheduled for Tuesday. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 12 years for a Level 4 felony, according to Indiana sentencing guidelines.
