YUBA CITY, Calif. — New court documents shed light on how an investigation by detectives in Northern California led to the arrest on Friday of a Portland middle school teacher on a charge for luring a minor.
Craig Douglas-Meyers, a 38-year-old teacher at Hosford Middle School, was arrested at his home in Northeast Portland by investigators from the Portland Police Bureau. He made his first appearance in court on Monday for an arraignment.
The investigation that developed Douglas-Meyers as a suspect began in Yuba City, California, just north of Sacramento. According to a probable cause affidavit filed by police, a detective for the city's police department had an online persona as a 13-year-old girl and was contacted in July by someone with the username "Willstein387," later linked to Douglas-Meyers.
According to the detective, Douglas-Meyers was first to reach out using the private messaging feature on a website that offers free chat rooms. While the conversation started with comments on the weather in California and Oregon, Douglas-Meyers allegedly let on that he believed the detective's persona to be school-aged by referencing her "summer break."
"This led me to believe Douglas-Meyers did not think the person he was communicating with was actually 69 years old," the detective wrote in his statement. "Douglas-Meyers went on to tell me that he had recently put a pool in his backyard and said I was 'welcome to join.'"
While disclosing more about himself and his interests, Douglas-Meyers allegedly made other statements indicating that he thought the persona was underage, referencing her parents. Eventually, he asked whether the girl was 14 or 15 years old, and the detective replied that this persona "would be turning 14 in the coming November."
"Douglas-Meyers told me he taught children that age and said, 'Guess I won't flirt to [sic] hard now...or maybe I will not sure,'" the detective wrote.
With the detective continuing to engage in the conversation, the affidavit describes how Douglas-Meyers' comments gradually became more explicit, commenting on the persona's appearance and then making overtly sexual advances in great detail.
"I responded, "Well I guess its just fantasy tho lol,'" the detective wrote. "Douglas-Meyers then told me, 'Awe well I guess, unless I get there. Have to admit I mapped it ha.'"
The Yuba City detective contacted the Portland Police Bureau on July 18. According to the probable cause affidavit, Portland police subpoenaed Google for a phone number linked to the account that contacted the undercover detective. The phone number was attached to a Gmail account under the name Craig Meyers, and the recovery email for that account was Douglas-Meyers' Portland Public Schools email address.
When Portland detectives spoke with Douglas-Meyers, he allegedly waived his Miranda Rights and admitted to sending the messages.
"He advised that he chats when he gets stressed, but it is 'just pretend,'" the affidavit reads.
Douglas-Meyers allegedly admitted to have an attraction to "teenagers of that age" and said that he's chatted with minors online in the past, calling it a "part of himself he does not like," the affidavit says. Douglas-Meyers is married and told police that his wife was unaware of his online activity.
Douglas-Meyers has been a teacher at Hosford Middle School since 2009, according to police. Portland Public Schools said in a statement that it's fully cooperating with police, and it's not aware of any information that suggests any PPS students were impacted.
The teacher is no longer listed on a directory of Hosford Middle School staff, though he remains on paid leave from the district. The school sent home a letter to parents saying they are working with the district to provide extra support at the schools. Class begins Tuesday for Hosford 6th graders, while other students start Wednesday.
Police have circulated a booking photo of Douglas-Meyers, believing there may be underage victims.
On Aug. 8, multiple law enforcement agencies in Yuba City held a press conference on "Summer Sentinel," an operation which involved a number of officers posing as minors to catch predators. According to Yuba County District Attorney Clinton J. Curry, Douglas-Meyers wasn't mentioned in the briefing because the investigation into him was ongoing at the time, but booking photos of other suspects were shown.
"I can confirm that the investigation that led to (Douglas-Meyers') arrest began with Operation Summer Sentinel, which was a multi-agency operation where child predators chatted with undercover agents posing as children online," Curry said in a statement. "These operations are resource intensive, but critical to identifying, arresting, and prosecuting men trolling the internet for sex with children. The cases of men who occupy positions of trust and access to our children demonstrate the great need to continue funding the efforts under the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program."
During Douglas-Meyers' arraignment on Monday, the teacher's lawyer entered his initial plea of not guilty. A grand jury hearing in the case has been scheduled for Sept. 4, and he is being held in jail without bail pending a preventative detention hearing.