LOUISA COUNTY—
A Mechanicsville minister is looking at spending the rest of his life in prison.A Louisa jury convicted 81 year-old Irvin Baldwin Friday afternoon and then recommended that he spend 90 years in prison for his crimes.
The jury found Baldwin guilty on all three counts of soliciting sex over the internet including the solicitation of a minor. The jury needed just 15 minutes of deliberation to return the guilty verdicts.
On the way out of the Louisa County Courthouse Friday Baldwin said of his conviction, "My offense was speaking to a forty two year old man who was not even very good looking anyway on the internet." Baldwin also said that the rest of life was taken away from him with Friday's verdicts.
Baldwin was arrested in December when detectives say he made a trip to Louisa to meet up with who he thought was a 13 year old girl. A girl, he allegedly chatted with online, shared graphic sexual conversation with, and asked for sex on more than one occasion.
Detectives say when Baldwin arranged to meet the teen and showed up, he was met by an undercover detective and arrested. That officer is part of the county's C.S.I. unit, which stands for Child Safety Initiative.
In a previous court hearing, that detective testified that Pete Baldwin initially approached him in a chat room in November of 2009. He says they chatted three different days. That detective was undercover, posing as a teen girl. Prosecutor Rusty McGuire told a judge that Baldwin is a predator who came to their county to commit a crime against a young child.
McGuire told the judge that the self proclaimed minister thought the person on the other end of the chat line was 13 year-old girl. He adds, Baldwin misrepresented his age twice to the so called teenage girl. Allegedly telling her he was 20 years old, then later he told her he was 61 after asking is she would go for an older man.
After the trial ended Friday McGuire said of Baldwin, "The defendant [Baldwin] was living the American dream and he chose to prey on an innocent child."
Baldwin's attorney says his client denied the allegations. Amid some confusion about Baldwin's exact age, Domingo Rivera described Baldwin as an 82 year old law abiding citizen who has never had problems with the law. He says for someone to suggest such allegations, is outrageous.
Baldwin is scheduled to be formally sentenced November 15.
