RUTLAND – According to court records, an FBI Special Agent nabbed a woman from West Rutland by posing as an 11-year-old girl and convincing her into having sexual contact.
Agent Jenelle Bringuel, part of the Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force, used a false identity –an 11-year-old girl in foster care — and posted messages in a social media forum frequented by sexual offenders.
Scarlet Shadows, a 31-year-old woman known on the digital forums as Dragongurl69, responded to the post.
She initially spoke about “dating” the minor girl. Then the chats turned sexual, with Shadows asking the agent posing as a minor girl to keep their relationship confidential.
Finally, Shadows planned to approach the minor girls’ mother on the pretext of getting employed as a babysitter.
The plan was to behave well in the presence of her mother but engage in sexual acts in her absence.
After conversing over text messages for a month between December 26, 2021, and January 18, 2022, Shadows decided to travel to Warren County in New York.
On January 22, after arriving at her destination, police took her into custody.
Police say she brought along condoms and a mood ring as promised.
Police allege after hesitating initially, she admitted that she came to New York to have sexual contact with the child.
She was presented in a federal court and charged with enticing a minor into sexual activity.
The charges were framed based on an affidavit written by agent Bringuel.
If convicted, she will be registered as a sex offender and will face a 10-year jail term with a fine of up to $2,50,000.
