Mark Baggette

Baggette's decade old RSO mugshot

**Mark Russel Baggette** is a suspected a predator involved in the Suburban Washington, D.C. edition of **To Catch A Predator**. He is best know for his attractive looks and for showing up to the sting house twice in a 24-hour period.

## Biography

Mark Russel Baggette, a 34-year-old man formerly involved in amateur football and working as a male stripper, initiated a conversation with a decoy from Perverted Justice pretending to be a 13-year-old girl called "Becca". Early in their chat, Baggette suggested they should meet. He voiced his sexual intentions for her and asked why she seemed to like older men. He took the conversation further into inappropriate territory, stating his desire for intimate acts with her, including touching and kissing. He even suggested that she should strip for him and asked about her prior experiences with intimate activities. After the conversation turned more explicit, Baggette tried to call the decoy but had to cut the call short due to a bad connection. Later in the conversation, Baggette asked if Becca had ever had a romantic encounter with a girl. He showed interest in connecting with one of Becca's friends and wondered how this friend might react to the friendship of an older man. Baggette continued by sharing his desire to engage in certain sexual acts with her.

## Sting

Later in the day, Baggette received a phone call from a different decoy. It was evident from the background noise that Baggette was in a bustling location, possibly a bar or restaurant. When Baggette asked about the decoy's location, she claimed to have just returned from a movie. Showing interest in visiting the house, Baggette was provided with the address and instructed to enter through the back entrance in the garage. He also inquired about the presence of the decoy's friend, to which she responded that her friend would not be able to join them.

### First Encounter

After Dateline NBC had concluded its operations for the night, Baggette arrived at the sting house in a heavily intoxicated state. He arrived around 2:15 A.M. when he approached the door, instead of Chris Hansen or his crew, he was greeted by a retired F.B.I. Special Agent and the home's owner named Greg Schwartz. In his intoxicated state, Baggette immediately asked about the whereabouts of the decoy. The retired agent quickly made up an excuse and said that he had arrived at the wrong address. Baggette then promptly left the premises without causing any further disruption.

### Second Encounter

The next day, the decoy contacted Baggette again and fabricated a story to explain the previous night's incident, rescheduling their meeting for that evening. Baggette arrived as planned later that night, carrying alcohol and condoms. However, Hansen entered the room and mistakenly called him Alex. Baggette dropped his items and hastily fled the from the house. Due to the nature of it being Dateline NBC's second investigation, it did not involve law enforcement, causing Baggette to escape free.

## Aftermath

Baggette was subsequently arrested by the Fairfax County Police Department and was charged by the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney with one count of use of a communications device to facilitate certain offenses involving children, a felony. More than a year after his arrest, on July 25, 2006, Baggette entered a guilty plea to the initial felony charge he was facing. The exact details of his sentencing are not publicly available, but it is believed that he received a prison term ranging from five to ten years. Additionally, Baggette was ordered to register as a sex offender, and at some point, he resided in Ashburn and Leesburg, Virginia. However, the status of his registration has not been updated in over a decade, although the reason is unknown.

### 2023 update

In July 2023, during an interview on his "Predators I've Caught" podcast, Hansen spoke with Schwartz about the encounter with Baggette. Schwartz claimed he was asleep when he heard a knock on the door. He said when he arrived at the door, he was met by an "extremely good looking guy" who asked for "Becca." Schwartz stated that despite knowing who Baggette was and his intentions, he told Baggette that he didn't know who he was talking about. Schwartz explained that he asserted it wasn't his house and that he was part of a group that traveled around the country selling goods, with permission to spend the night at that particular house. According to Schwartz, Baggette stepped off the porch, examined the door with the address, looked at a piece of paper with the address written on it, and then acknowledged that he had the right address.

Schwartz reiterated that he maintained his denial and advised Baggette to contact the person he was expecting. Schwartz expressed surprise that a handsome man who could attract adult partners would have an interest in engaging in sex with a child. Schwartz described Baggette as not being very "chatty" but appearing "embarrassed" and eager to "get out of there." When Hansen asked if Baggette seemed drunk, Schwartz responded with a "maybe" and clarified that Baggette didn't fall off the porch. Schwartz claimed that Baggette did serve time of "some manner," although he was uncertain about the specific duration. He also noted that individuals who were acquainted with Baggette were "shocked" by his actions and the charges he faced.

Hansen mentioned that while obtaining public records on Baggette proved to be challenging, leading him to speculate that Baggette may have successfully had them expunged, he claimed that law enforcement told him that Baggette did serve "some time" and was required to register as a sex offender after his release from prison. Hansen further disclosed that in 2012, Baggette faced another arrest for domestic violence and assault/battery involving a family member but did not receive prison time. Additionally, Hansen revealed that Baggette is now a licensed pilot and works as a flight instructor for a private aviation company. Despite attempting to contact Baggette, Hansen has not received a response from him. In November 2023, despite Hansen speculating Baggette may have been of expunged of his charge, it was discovered that Baggette was on a website run by the Virginia State Assembly which adds tier one sex offenders in Virginia.

## Trivia

-In the Riverside, California episode a snippet of Mark Baggette's second encounter not shown in the D.C episode, shows Mark standing in the same spot when Del Harvey shouts "did you bring condoms?'' and Baggette saying "Yeah"

- He was the only of two unaired predator to be convicted with the sting and the second being Dennis Thomas since Dateline NBC were not doing investigations with police

## Gallery

Mark's profile picture during the stingMark's most recent sex offender registry photo as of 2023
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 http://www.perverted-justice.com/?con=va\_breitling
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://offenderrecords.org/virginia-sex-offender-search/?pg=62#searchbot%C2%A0
3. ↑ http://www.perverted-justice.com/index.php?pg=2006jul
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://dairystatedegenerates.blogspot.com/2020/10/to-catch-predator-update-bethpage-long.html
5. ↑ http://www.laws9.com/offenders/detail/oid/VA19467