Feds: Genesee man sought 10-year-old as a ‘wife’

A Genesee County man is facing federal charges after authorities say he tried to seek a young girl for sex — and then asked for someone even younger.

FBI officials recently initiated a juvenile sex trafficking probe against Josh Michael Waldrop after communicating with an undercover Flint Area Narcotics Group officer for months, according to a criminal complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

The officer started texting with Waldrop in July, when the 24-year-old identified himself as “Craig” and offered to spend $100 a month on a girl between 7 and 10 years old “so that he could have continued access to her for the purpose of sex, and so that she would be his wife and bear his children when she gets older,” an agent wrote.

When the undercover officer said he learned Waldrop was requesting “younger girls,” the man asked for pictures to choose from and mentioned wanting to “impregnate a virgin girl,” the filing said.

The exchange ended when Waldrop repeatedly demanded photos of an 8-year-old girl he believed was with the officer, according to the complaint.

They didn’t correspond again until Oct. 11, when Waldrop again sought a picture. Shown one of a youngster identified as 10, he called her “wifey material,” requested nude images and asked if she could spend the night, investigators said.

The officer attempted to arrange a meeting with Waldrop at a hotel in Burton, near Flint, but he kept seeking a naked picture and refused to come to the door.

After an FBI special agent learned Waldrop had been staying at the hotel since May, a search warrant was executed Thursday.

During an interview, Waldrop said he had messaged the undercover officer and “just wants a wife who is clean and pure whom he can settle down with, unlike the prostitutes he looks for on Backpage.com,” officials wrote.

Waldrop also told them relatives had accused him of inappropriate contact with his younger nieces but denied their claims and “agreed that he needs help for his sexual desires.”

Authorities also learned Burton police questioned Waldrop in early 2013 after a complaint he had possibly propositioned the 7-year-old daughter of his brother’s girlfriend. He said the girl asked him about sex. Others had made similar accusations in the past, the FBI reported.

He appeared before Magistrate Judge Patricia Morris on two charges: attempted manufacture of child pornography and attempted enticement.

Waldrop was ordered temporarily detained and faces a detention hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday in Flint.

The attorney representing him did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.