A child molester with dozens of victims advertises free baby-sitting services and brags about his sexual exploitation of children on the Internet.
He even boasts of how he's going to take pornographic pictures of some kids he's baby-sitting in a couple days.
But before the man can carry out his plan, police are at his house with a search warrant to arrest him.
They find thousands of photographs and hundreds of video tapes filled with images of child pornography.
Soon after the man's arrest, a 21-year-old woman comes forward with the story of how she was molested by the same man when she was 10.
Somewhere behind all the phone lines and dial-up modems sits U.S. Customs Senior Special Agent Donald Daufenbach.
Dubbed "the most feared man in cyberspace" by Fox News Online, Daufenbach is now one of 13 winners of the highest award available to law enforcement officers in the United States.
Daufenbach will travel to Washington, D.C., Aug. 5 to receive one of 13 Top Cops Awards, given by the National Association Of Police Organizations.
Daufenbach has worked out of the U.S. Customs office in Salt Lake City for 13 years. After several years working narcotics for the Customs Service, Daufenbach began investigating child pornography. In the early 1990s, before the Internet was as common in homes as the microwave oven, Daufenbach was just learning how pedophiles passed along their photos and engaged in their escapades.
Back then, Daufenbach was tipped off about a couple who was running an electronic bulletin board that posted child pornography. For a monthly subscription, users could dial into the electronic bulletin board, which the couple had dubbed "the filthiest place in cyberspace," Daufenbach said.
The couple pulled in as much as $60,000 a month before Daufenbach shut them down.
Another case at Brigham Young University sparked Daufenbach's interest when a student was expelled for receiving pornographic images of a young girl over his computer.
"That was one of those moments when the little light goes on and you say, 'Interesting, they can send pictures over the Internet; that's weird,' " Daufenbach said.
Before long, Daufenbach was immersed in learning how to weave through the intricate web on the Internet to catch pedophiles.
By 1995, Daufenbach was investigating cases all over the country. His modest office in downtown Salt Lake City is a virtual worldwide law enforcement museum. Police hats from Canada to New Zealand line the bookshelves behind his desk.
Martin Jauch, chief superintendent of Scotland Yard's clubs and vice unit, has corroborated on a handful of cases with Daufenbach that have crossed into British borders.
"He's a pathfinder, there's no question about it," Jauch said.
With Daufenbach's help, Scotland Yard shut down a string of child pornography Web sites in Britain that were based from a Web server in California. Just one of the sites was bringing in more than $7,000 a night, Jauch said. With Daufenbach's help, police in London served search warrants and seized computer equipment.
"It was Don's initial work there that really launched the whole thing off," Jauch said. "It was groundbreaking in a lot of ways, really, because not only was it a direct cooperation between the two of us . . . it was one of the first times we were prosecuting someone from the U.K. that was not published in the U.K. As far as we're concerned, it's one of those landmark cases."
Daufenbach travels all over the world teaching his craft to other investigators. He's been featured in numerous print media and been on television documentaries for A&E, CNN and Court TV.
"If we had more Dons out there, we could really put a dent in child pornography," said Debbie Mahoney, founder of a volunteer group, based in California, that monitors the Internet for child porn. Mahoney's organization, Safeguarding Our Children United Mothers, frequently passes tips on to Daufenbach when they find child pornography.
"We've given Don many, many tips because he's so proactive in this area," Mahoney said. "You can give Don a tip, and within no time he's got all the evidence gathered, he's got the report written, and he's filed it. He's probably the foremost expert of anyone in this area."
But for all his cyberspace savvy, Daufenbach is one of the more animated and gregarious detectives you'll find. Sitting in his office, Daufenbach relates stories on everything from the Kremlin to Asian cuisine.
"It (the award) couldn't have happened to a better guy," said Sgt. Kevin McQuiggin of the Vancouver, British Colombia Police Department. "He has a unique combination of technical and investigative background. He understands the technology and also has extensive investigative experience. It's a fantastic combination."
U.S. Customs Senior Special Agent Donald Daufenbach was chosen as one of 13 "Top Cops" from 350 nominees for this year's awards.
Previous "Top Cops" and honorable mentions from Utah:
1999, Shane Henrie, Price Police, honorable mention.
1998, Jim Potter, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department, Top Cop.
1997, James Washington, Salt Lake Police, honorable mention.
1996, Paul Mangelson, Utah Highway Patrol, honorable mention.
1995, Brad Horne, Utah Highway Patrol, honorable mention.
1994, Lloyd Prescott, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, Top Cop
Previous "Top Cops" from the U.S. Customs Service:
1996, Curtis Compton, Texas.
E-mail: djensen@desnews.com