Joe Wunderler

> "Where's the dog?!"
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>

>  - Joe's inquiry about his wingman.
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>

Wunderler's original mugshot

**Joseph John Wunderler** is a predator that was involved in the Suburban Washington, D.C. edition of **To Catch A Predator**. He is best known for his revolting chatlog which was ranked at number three on the "Most Slimy" on Perverted Justice's website. He is also known for his nervous "mm-hm" ticks during his interview, as well as actually trying to negotiate a deal with Hansen to avoid jail time, thinking he's a police officer.

## Biography

Before the sting, Joseph John Wunderler was an army United States sergeant stationed at Fort Belvoir at the intelligence and security command. 28-year-old Joe engaged in a chat with a girl he believed to be fourteen-years-old named "Erin". He offers the girl to have sex with him in a private message as soon as he learns her age. After only a few minutes of conversation, Joe revealed that he was seeking both oral and anal sex and had an eight-inch shaven, pierced penis. He enquired about her bra size and whether or not she shaved her legs. Joe asked whether she was a "thong kind of girl," saying with contempt that there was "something about a teen body." He suggested she had "beautiful tiny pink nipples," and continued, saying he wanted to lick her genitalia. Joe inquired about her sexual history and inquired as to whether she would be spending the night alone at home.

Joe asked the girl if she had any pets. She claimed to have a dog and a cat. Joe then returns to the sexual topic and inquires about her experience with anal sex as well as whether or not she has ever used whipped cream as lubricant. He stated he was nervous about meeting her since police do sting operations to apprehend child sex predators. The following day, Joe contacted the decoy and said he wanted to see her use the restroom and then urinate on her genitals. He then returns to chatting about the dog and inquires as to its gender. Joe mentioned including the dog in their sexual activities. He indicated wanting to watch the dog engage in sexual activity with the girl.

Joe revealed he was interested in seeing the dog lick the girl and possibly her stroking him if it became aroused. He asserted he intended to perform vaginal sex using the dog's semen as lubricant. Then he asks the girl if her genitalia are covered with hair. After going offline for a few days, Joe reconnected with the decoy and expressed his desire to witness the dog engaging in vaginal sex with her. He also said he wanted to witness the girl have oral sex on the dog and vice versa. He made it clear he wanted her to describe the sensation of a dog's penis in her genitals. Joe repeatedly inquired as to the length of the girl's mother's absence before concluding the conversation and scheduling a meeting.

## Sting

On August 19, 2005, Joe drove to the sting house in Herndon, Virginia. When Joe arrived, he started looking for the dog in the kitchen while waiting for the decoy to descend. His search was interrupted when Chris Hansen came out to confront him. When told to sit down, Joe did so and then quickly developed a nervous twitch where he rapidly sniffed and hummed. He claimed that he only stopped by to "talk." Chris stated that he appeared anxious for someone who was just coming over to talk. Joe retorted that he has nervousness on a regular basis. When asked how old the girl he had come to visit was, Joe first said he didn't know but later changed his story to say he saw a fourteen-year-old girl after Chris didn't believe him. Chris initially believed the girl Joe was going to see was twelve-years-old since he had the wrong chatlog. He then receives the appropriate chatlog from Del Harvey.

While Joe continued to twitch nervously, Chris begins to read from the chat log. Jo e claimed that the chat he had with the child was just "talking" and "conversation." After Chris continued to read the chatlog, Joe remarked that he was a "lonely guy." Later, Joe acknowledged that he had a problem with the internet and that he was addicted to talking to women. He says he never had intercourse with any of the women he met online; instead, they would just talking. He claimed that he was seeing a doctor.  Chris retorted that it didn't seem to work.  Joe contended that at that point, he began speaking to them. Chris said that Joe had mentioned having sex acts with the dog. Joe maintained he had repulsive fetishes that he was aware were wrong, and it was one of the reasons he was attempting to get "help." When Chris asked if he was going to state that it was his very first time doing it, Joe claimed that it was his first time.  Chris later questioned Joe about why he considered it was right for an adult man to visit a fourteen-year-old girl home alone, even if he was only there to "talk." Joe replied that he "didn't think about it" at the time.

After Chris asked him how a girls parents would feel if their daughter was visited by a stranger, Joe stated that they would be "infuriated," and that he would too. Chris declared that he still arrived anyway. Joe insisted that nothing would be done and that it was all "talk." Joe said he knew exactly what Chris was doing and what was going on. Because Joe thought Chris was in law enforcement, he tried to negotiate a deal to participate in the investigation so he could be let go and not get on trouble. Chris clarified to him that he wasn't from law enforcement and that he stepped into a Dateline sting. The cameras emerged and Chris acknowledged who he was. Joe got up from the stool and left the sting house. Since this was before the police were involved, he wasn't arrested right away.

## Arrest and aftermath

Perverted Justice promptly contacted the military following the sting operation. Wunderler was arrested and charged with one federal count of attempted enticement of minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.. He pleaded guilty to the federal charge on April 27, 2006, before United States District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. On July 28, 2006, he was sentenced to five years in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender. Wunderler later relocated to Clayton, Delaware in November 2017, where he is currently registered as a medium-risk sex offender. He eventually got married to a woman named Jessica Sellers, and both he and his wife were employed by a garage door firm, even adopting a dog (ironically) and a hedgehog. Subsequently, Wunderler's wife passed away on April 10, 2021, due to undetermined causes.

## 2022 Update

Chris reached out to Joe and had a very brief exchange with him. It went as follows:

**Joe** - "Hello?"

**Chris** - "Yes, is Joe there please?"

**Joe** - "Speaking."

**Chris** - "Hey Joe, it's Chris Hansen. How are you today?"

**Joe** - "...okay?"

**Chris** - "Joe, I do a follow-up series of podcasts-"

**Joe** - \*ends call\*

Chris immediately called Joe back, and their next exchange was even shorter than their first:

**Joe** - "I have nothing to say to you, stop calling me!"

**Chris** - "Alright, I just wanna-"

**Joe** - \*ends call\*

Chris also revealed some disturbing information about Joe, such as accusations of sexual misconduct from when he was as young as 10-years-old.

## 2023 Update

On January 19th 2023, Chris Hansen made an appearance on Michael Rapaport's podcast, asked to name the "Sick Fuck of the Week". Chris went with Wunderler, recalling the chat log where he said he wanted the decoy to have sex with her dog. He revealed that, after the podcast, Wunderler's new girlfriend (a fan of the show) contacted Chris, believing the interview would actually benefit Joe. Although the three of them communicated back and forth for months, with Joe attempting to lay into Chris how he ruined his life (with Chris retorting Joe did it to himself with the chat he had), the couple abruptly stopped communicating and changed phone numbers. Chris and his crew flew out to the part of the States the couple live in to hopefully chase up the interview, but were unable to find them. Chris' logical conclusion is that they are no longer interested in doing the interview, but he is still open to speaking with Joe.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.perverted-justice.com/?con=vamale\_692005
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sexoffender.dsp.delaware.gov/?/Detail/00007027
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.justice.gov/psc/docs/Wunderler\_42706.pdf
4. ↑ https://dairystatedegenerates.blogspot.com/2020/10/to-catch-predator-update-bethpage-long.html
5. ↑ https://www.wrightmortuary.com/obituaries/Jessica-Sellers/#!/Obituary