Todd Barraco

> "No I did not."
>
> - Barraco's adamant denial about his actions

Barraco's Genesee County mugshot

**Todd Barraco** is a predator that was caught in the **Genesee County, Michigan** sting on *Takedown with Chris Hansen*. He continued a trend of men in education targeting decoys around the same age as children they educated, and is best known for his rude, authoritive attitude during his brief arrest and interview, as well as the obscene amount of child pornography in his possession.

## Prior to the sting

Barraco was a part time police officer working for the Vassar Police Department at the time of the sting. He had been in law enforcement and education for many years, working at schools such as Imlay City Schools as a student Dean, a principal at Merrill Community Schools and as an Assistant Principal with Vassar Public Schools.

## Chat, arrest and Chris Hansen interview

In March of 2022, forty-four-year-old Barraco, using the fake name "John", initiated contact with a police officer posing as a fifteen-year-old boy named "Dustin". Although the exact details of his chat weren't explicitly revealed during his interview, it is known Barraco acknowledged the boy's age, and there was talk of whether the parents would be home and the fact Barraco didn't normally use condoms. After organising a date with the decoy, Barraco went to the sting house and was greeted by the on-site decoy, who claimed he had to go upstairs to grab his vape pen. Barraco asked the decoy (who was clearly not a minor) if he was really fifteen, to which the decoy claimed he was. Barraco attempted to close the door he came in through, but struggled, resulting in him seeing the oncoming officers from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office prematurely.

After being arrested, Barraco was brought back inside the house, where the camera crew was now visible. Barraco instantly became hostile and defiant, trying to cover his face using his arm, only for the police officers to finish handcuffing him with some resistance. When Chris Hansen attempted to interview Barraco, he sat with his back to Hansen, keeping his quiet, firm, authoritative tone, denying what he was doing was illegal and refusing to answer any questions. When Hansen brought out the bottle of lube Barraco brought with him, Barraco continued to deny any wrongdoing and stubbornly refused to answer Hansen, requesting an attorney and demandingly asking not to be filmed repeatedly. After Hansen revealed that Barraco had walked into a televised sting operation designed to catch predators, Barraco firmly told Chris that what he did for a living was not Hansen's business, and he was taken into custody. Three handcuffs and three licensed handguns were recovered from his vehicle.

## Aftermath

Barraco was originally charged with Accosting Children for Immoral Purposes and Communicating with Others on the Internet to Commit a Crime, both felonies. After posting a $20,000 bail, Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson was able to obtain a search warrant on Barraco's seized cellphone, which eventually led to police discovering over 230,000 images and 9,200 videos of child pornography. He was immediately dismissed by the Vassar Police Department following a warning given to them about the sting.

In December 2022, Barraco took a plea deal to avoid prison time. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime, leading to the other two charges to being dropped, and on June 5th, 2023, Barraco was sentenced to two years of probation and non-public registration as a sex offender. He was also required to give up his MCOLES certification, meaning he is no longer allowed to work as a police officer in the state of Michigan. Following the public knowledge of his arrest, Swanson alluded to Barraco having previously been accused of inappropriate behaviour by former co-workers, which was supposedly one of the reasons why he often changed buildings.