Celebrity Hairstylist Busted in Florida Teen Sex Sting

We are concerned that the same way that. he was engaging in sending photos of his. penis to this third or 15 year old girl. and attempting to pay her for set or. attempting to gift her items and also. ask for sex. We are concerned that he. may have other clients that are underage. that unfortunately may be subjected to. the same kind of behavior by this. defendant. >> Understand? Okay. >> A hair stylist to the stars is in really. hot water after Miami police say they. caught him in a sting. They claim he not. only been soliciting a teenage client. for sex, but also bombarding her with.

explicit photos. We've got our hands on. the probable cause affidavit that lays. out the kind of messages he was. allegedly sending this teen girl and. what he brought with him to what he. thought was a meetup with her, but was. actually an undercover operation. And. the sheriff behind a task force that. targets predators joins us to give us. some unique insight. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. Okay, we got to talk about 37year-old.

Ryan Thomas Pearl. He has made quite a. name for himself in the world of. celebrity and fashion. He has styled the. hair of some of today's biggest stars, Haley Bieber, Sophie Turner, Hollyy. NBC. Miami reports that Pearl worked out of. Olan Salon in Miami as well as New York. City. So, he's a big deal. He's a big. deal. And according to a post on his. Facebook page on July 16th, Pearl had. been selected as an artistic ambassador. for Redkin. This is a very well-known. beauty brand. Well, I'll tell you that.

ambassadorship likely in danger now as. Pearl faces reportedly six charges in. Miami Dade County, Florida. All. connected to alleged solicitation of an. underage girl for sex. Those reported. charges are use of a computer to seduce, solicit, or lure a child to engage in. sexual conduct, traveling to meet a. minor for the purpose of sexual contact, two counts of electronic transmission of. material that's harmful to minors, possession of cocaine, and contributing.

to the delinquency of a child. Now, all. except the last charge are felonies in. Florida. This is very serious. Now, according to an arrest affidavit that. was filed with the court, the alleged. victim in this case is a 15-year-old. female who is a client of Pearls. Apparently met him when he first styled. her hair at age 13. And after getting a. report about inappropriate behavior. between the alleged victim and Pearl, authorities say they were able to use. the teen social media accounts to trick.

him into a meetup. Lot to get into here. And as we go through each section of. this, including this sting operation, who better to talk about this than we're. bringing back on to Sidebar, Sheriff. Chris Swanson of Jese County, Michigan, leader of a task force that goes after. alleged predators. Chris, thank you so. much for taking the time. It's good to. see you. >> Always, brother. >> So, I got to ask you, I I want to take. your your pulse on this. You have a hair. stylist. It's an interesting position. because it allows him, assuming these.

allegations are true, to get up close. and personal with people of all. different ages, makes them feel. comfortable, and maybe they're not being. supervised directly by a parent. Usually, look, it's a benign profession, but you take these allegations, it's. true, it is one of those professions. where it does put people in contact with. children. What should we be thinking. about that? Well, what makes this uh completely. different than most cases is the word. celebrity. The fact that he had her in a.

confined space since she was 13. This is. what predators do. They identify a. victim, they have then identified their. prey, and then they start building that. trust. And in this case, it took two. years. But what you see is a pattern. that is repeated across the board when. it comes to predator and prey. But that. celebrity part, Jesse, is unique because. many times that word force and coercion, that's how this person started out is.

coercing this individual. Think maybe he. used the celebrity status of his. position. I can help you. I can make you. beautiful. I don't know what the chat. what his mindset was, but I guarantee he. probably used his celebrity status to to. uh to lure her in more than other. predators would. And in this case, it's. because of the people that are his. clients. Hey, so I know many of you out. there might be true crime fans, but is. anyone in a business of some kind, too? If so, let me ask you something. How. much time do you think your business. team is spending just in spreadsheets, chasing down receipts, trying to make.

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ODU today. Get a free 15-day trial today. at odo.com/sidebaracounting. Let me let me focus on that for a second. because the celebrity aspect is. interesting and assuming these. allegations are true for the moment. Okay. If someone could let their guard. down and be like, "Wow, someone as. renowned in the industry, works with. these celebrities, you know, they could. be trusted." You know, there's one thing. to say, "Yeah, you use celebrity to. maybe say, you know, I can get you this, I can get you that," but, you know, a.

renowned figure in the industry, does. that build up a level of trust? Would a. younger person or any kind of alleged. victim say, "I I would never in a. million years think someone like that. would engage in anything like this.". That that's a factor, right? >> That absolutely is a factor. And look at. here at Michigan, the Larry Nasser case. in Michigan State. Oh, yeah. >> Look at the Sanduski case, you know, back in Penn State. I mean, a lot of. these celebrities, obviously, you know, Pete Diddy and and those those. celebrities that can can take their.

position many times and they lure people. in because of that celebrity status. >> So, he's innocent until proven guilty. That's clear. But, we got to get into. some of the details from this police. affidavit. But and we're for purposes of. the conversation, we're talking about. what this could mean. So, we're not. going to be uh we won't be talking about. all of it as some of the information is. really graphic, but you're going to get. the idea. So, here's what it says. Quote, "On Saturday, July 26, 2025, the. victim's mother responded to the police. department to report inappropriate. conversation between her 15-year-old.

daughter and the defendant via social. media platforms." The witness was. interviewed and explained to detectives. while she was home on Sunday at. approximately 242 hours, she received. two Apple Wallet notifications. The. notifications were for two separate. transaction deposits from a phone number. sent directly to her daughter's account. She then asked her daughter who sent the. money and her daughter told her it was. from the hair stylist. Let's just stop. right there, Chris. Important. This is. this is strange, right? In the sense not.

strange. I I guess this is a difficult. balance between parents and their. children. You want to maybe know what's. going on in their social media, maybe. want to have access to their bank. accounts, their financial accounts. I. know there's a level of independence, but oversight and seeing what they're. doing, particularly in a digital age, that's that's a very important balance. And what do you advise parents to do? >> Your kids's business is your business. The brain doesn't even fully develop to. age 25. That's why we have that phrase,

survive till you're 25. This is a. 15-year-old that thank God the mom was. the watchdog on watching these. transactions and dug deeper. I agree. there is a point where you want to give. independence to your kids, but that. independence has to come with some. accountability and protection. And if it. wasn't for that mom, I'm convinced this. act would have taken place because she. stopped it at the most critical time, the exchange of money. And that money. was a a transaction that was going to.

lead to the assault. >> Well, from there, the girl's mother. discovered these alleged inappropriate. messages between her daughter and this. hair stylist. According to the. affidavit, the teen and Pearl spoke over. text, Tik Tok, Snapchat. Social media, right, Chris, is a tool that has now. morphed. It used to be online chat. rooms, but now you have all these. different platforms. a probably hard to. monitor everything, but it is a tool to. get close to monitors. How minors, how.

dangerous is it? >> Well, you have to look at apps that are. now the vehicle for communication. That's usually what I call the knock on. the door. Snapchat. Everybody has. Snapchat, Instagram, you know, Tik Tok. That's the knock on the door to take. them to a chat room or a text message. conversation, which is offline. And a. lot of times these predators do that. because they want to isolate them, which. is part of the grooming tactic. Isolate. them, put them in a corner, have. one-on-one conversations, and that's. where it leads into ultimately the.

meats. >> And by the way, going back to this uh. Apple Wallet account, we don't know the. amount that Pearl is alleged to have. sent this teen, but you know, money can. be a great motivator for people of any. age, but for a teenager especially, something to keep in mind. So, the. girl's mom reported everything to the. police right away, and then they set up. a sting operation. So the goal was to. try to lure Pearl into meeting up with. this girl. The thing about that was it. was actually an investigator who was. messaging with him. So the affidavit. includes some of the messages between.

them which quickly turn graphic. But I. do want to point out something that we. found interesting. It appears in the. messages that Pearl says he's 28. In. real life he's 37. Now, Chris, something. you see in these situations, an adult. not necessarily claiming they're also. underage, but saying they're younger, maybe to make that age gap seem not as. drastic, maybe to let defenses down, maybe make an alleged victim more. comfortable. Again, these allegations,

that's what they are. These innocents. who proven guilty, but for purposes of. the conversation, what do you think? >> That's premeditated. you know, and these. are rationalizations that many times. predators use to try to reduce the. anxiety that uh their victims have. And. so if you're talking a 37y old versus a. 15-year-old, which he knew based on the. information that I too have that she. said, meaning the police, you know, I'm. only 15. So you see this this kind of.

bringing down the age gap to make it. quote more normal. That was all. premeditated. There's no question. And. they try to do that to not only help the. the victim, but sometimes it's a. rationalization in their own mind. And. uh that's why this predator prey. relationship is so important to digest. and to break apart just like we're doing. right now for others to learn from. >> So the girl's mother recently spoke. anonymously with uh NBC 6 saying quote, "I was upset. I was like sick in my. stomach. I was so disappointed. You.

know, like how could this happen to my. daughter, but I know it happens every. day." What is a 37-year-old man doing. asking a 15-year-old girl, "What size of. shoe are you? I want to make you happy. You're pretty. Let's keep this between. you and me." As soon as I saw that, I. knew his intention was to take advantage. of my daughter. Now, here are some of. the messages that Pearl allegedly sent. again to this 15-year-old who was. actually, remember, an undercover. officer. Think again, we can't include. all of them. They're very, very. explicit. But here are just a few.

You're mad, cool, and fun to talk to. just didn't know if you cared that I. said because I'm older. It's not that. easy to get pregnant like that. Maybe. you will send me more selfies now. Okay, I'll bring you money too, babe. So, you. have money to do stuff with your. friends. According to Miami police, Pearl also allegedly sent a photo of. himself wearing swimming trunks and then. images of his naked body. Chris, your. reaction. You know, you mentioned the shoe size,

you mentioned money, being with your. friends. That's all grooming. So, any. parent out there that sees a message, even if it's not as graphic as what you. just explained, when you see those. communications to an underage kid, red. flag. Because they're trying to break. down those defenses. They're trying to. bring him in a position where you're. giving them gifts and rewards. That's. all part of filling a need in the. grooming algorithm. And when he takes it. to the next step by exchanging pictures. again, it breaks down the defenses. You're talking a 15-year-old and a 37.

year old. He knows exactly what he's. doing. And by sending photos now, she's. probably thinking, or any victim, well, if they sent this, then I should send. something back. It's it's all part of. that psychological dominance. Well, I. sent you pictures, you send me pictures. And that's where the child pornography. comes in with underage photos being sent. back and forth and being held on phones. This is all part of the process and and. I don't know the background of Pearl, but I can tell you this is probably not. his first interaction or first. communication to somebody underage.

>> Well, here's the thing. Look, we don't. know that for sure, but I hear I hear. exactly what you're saying. I will tell. you, you know, speaking to you, speaking. to Chris Hansen, when you ultimately. confront these suspects, automatically a. many times it's, well, that's not what I. was intending in the conversation. That's not what I meant. And maybe. that's even a defense that they go with. at trial if it goes to trial. You know, these messages are being misconstrued. I. find it difficult based on these. messages unless they say someone else. was sending them or there was, you know,

some issue in the way they were. retrieved, which I think are uphill. arguments. Um, it's very difficult to. suggest there was a benign reason for. this because look, it's not illegal for. a 37y old to have a conversation with a. 15-year-old, but the contents of it and. the actions that are taken are quite. significant. How do you how do you get. past that? How do you say this is what. has crossed the line? This is not. innocent. This is not benign when you're. having these conversations with the. suspects. Well, I can tell you in the.

last seven and a half years when we have. been working ghost, we started in 2018. and arrested 240 predators plus, uh, we've not had a single case that we've. lost because we found out that the. person was actually there benevolently. to save someone's life. It's a. rationalization. It's a defense mode. And then when you confront them with the. chats, you confront them with their own. words, their photos, then that defense. is over. But I think the key is the. crossover. It's not uncommon for our. chatters to chat 100, 200 people in a.

night. And maybe some of them will go. down even past the the age where they've. been told that they're 13, 14 or 15, and. they chat a little more and then they. flake out. But it's the ones that do not. stop. And in this particular case, the. agency that chatted on behalf of the. victim did a phenomenal job by. reiterating, you know, I'm only 15. You. know, I'm only 15. Like that is the. crossover. And so when he went there and. of course he had, you know, condoms, he. had cocaine, that is commitment. And.

when that happens, there's no crossing. back to I was just testing the waters. There's a fine line. But when they are. taking actions, that's when they're what. we call committed to the crime and. that's when the arrest and the charges. stick. Le. >> let's talk about that because the court. paperwork also included messages that. the officer had sent to Pearl, pretending again to be this 15-year-old. Messages like, "I am very shy. Please. don't. Do you care that I'm 15? No, sorry. I'm just new to this. Please. don't get mad. And this allegedly shows.

that Pearl knows he's talking to a minor. and being extremely sexually graphic. The affidavit states the conversation. continued regarding plans to meet the. victim on the following day for the. purpose of sexual activities with the. use of condoms. On Wednesday, July 30th, 2025, during an undercover operation, the defendant drove to the incident. location provided by the undercover. detective with the intent to pick up the. victim to engage in sexual activities. The defendant further purchased. electronic cigarettes, commonly known as.

vapes, for the victim's personal use. At. approximately 1845 hours, the defendant. arrived at the incident location driving. a 2021 light blue Mercedes-Benz S580. Records check revealed the vehicle is. registered to the defendant. A felony. stop was conducted on the vehicle by the. city of Miami tactical robbery unit. The. defendant was identified as the driver. and sole occupant of the vehicle. He was. given verbal commands to exit the. vehicle and was taken into custody. Okay. So, first of all, Chris, let's. talk about the conversations. Um, you.

will hear a defense attorney say this. was entrapment, right? That it was the. the the conversations uh the the. proactive messages from the undercover. agent uh posing as the 15-year-old to. the suspect that this isn't fair. Walk. us through what uh what investigators. are taught about the the questions or. the comments they pose to the suspects. What is that line? Why is it that how do.

you avoid an entrapment kind of uh. defense? >> Well, I can tell you ent trament is. probably the most used defense that any. attorney in the United States is going. to use to try to get their client off. It was entrapment. Let me explain. Entrament is very easy to understand. If. I wanted to do something to get you, Jesse, I would focus just on you. I. would target you and I would try to draw. you in. That's entrapment. If I just. throw out the bait, if I give people. exits and let them know the ages, in. this case, that investigator did a. phenomenal job by saying, you know, I'm. only 15. I'm new to this. Can you help.

me? Many times we'll tell our predators. to go stop and get a particular drink at. a party store and they do that and bring. the drink to the location. That shows. intent. So if if the entrapment defense. is used, but we completely disprove that. by saying anybody could have joined this. conversation or left the conversation. That's not enttrapment. But we give outs. and it only bolsters our case. And. that's why majority of these cases plead. because a defense attorney has no.

defense when somebody shows up in a 2021. Mercedes and they have vapes. And. without even seeing the conversation, maybe the detective even say, "Hey, bring me some vapes." And so he went and. got the particular vapes for that. victim. This is all part of the. investigation. They did a phenomenal. job. This is not enttrapment. It's a. good criminal case. >> And if the suspect says, "Hey, are are. you an undercover officer? Are you. really uh 15?" um you you can you can go. with that conversation because in a way. it goes to consciousness of guilt. The.

fact that they're asking those questions. shows what they're doing is wrong. So. what's the limit in terms of uh what you. can what truthful comments or or you. know maybe misleading comments you can. give to the suspect. >> It's undercover. It's an investigation. and law enforcement is not only. protected from doing these other cover. investigations, but you play a role in. order to protect the community and to. solve crimes. And in this particular. case, yes, they're talking to law. enforcement. There's no obligation for.

them to say, "By the way, I'm law. enforcement. We're pretending to be a. 15-year-old.". >> Yeah. Yeah. >> That's part of what undercover operators. do. Whether it's narcotic world, human. trafficking world, whether it's, you. know, stolen vehicles, this is part of. what law enforcement does in order to. find people that are trying to hurt our. community in this case, a young child. >> And it helps to prove intent, which is. key in these cases. So now you have this. takedown. What are these takedowns like? I mean, these are people now the. spotlight is on them. I wonder if they.

automatically know what is going on. Do. they tend to resist? What is the danger? What are the protocols in place when now. you have to take down the suspect? >> Yeah, that's a great question for your. audience. You know, by the time that. vehicle rolls up on the scene, that has. already been identified in the chat and. confirmed. That goes back to your word. intent. They knew exactly where they're. going, what they were doing, what they. were bringing. When that vehicle is.

arrives, there's an outer perimeter that. already has identified they're on the. way. And different agencies have. different perimeters, but there's uh. undercover operators and surveillance. teams that are watching, you know, what. vehicle this person probably drives. They saw it roll in the parking lot. And. when he got to that particular spot, they may even said pull into the second, you know, driveway left of whatever gas. station, whatever the location was. As. soon as that happens, many times there's. a tactical advantage already set up so. the mark units can come up and make the.

arrest. There's no misunderstanding that. when that individual looks in the side. view mirror, the rearview mirror, and. they see law enforcement, that the gig. is up. And many times they freeze. They. don't know what to do. They've realized. that for whether it's days, weeks, or. months prior to this that they've been. building this fantasy up and they have. now committed and they know that the. world is about to end. So to answer your. question, few resist, but when they do. resist, they'll take off. they are. running scared and that's where the. outer perimeter comes in and we we.

contain the scene and we arrest them. But the thing is is during these times. we want to build rapport because we want. to ultimately solicit a confession from. this individual. Even though we have all. the chats, we have all the software, we. have everything that proves the case, there's very little that's better than. the person actually saying what they did. and why they did it. So a lot of times. we're going hands-on, we're securing, patting down for weapons, and we're. already starting to build the rapport. is your name so and so. We got you. covered. You're safe. We're going to. take you out of here. I you know what's.

your password to your phone? And boom, they put it out there. These are all. things to try to deescalate but also to. try to to divert their attention from. resisting to compliance. >> No, that's a great point and and I know. you also, you know, search the person. and you search the vehicle. So, what. happened here? Investigators say they. searched Pearl's vehicle. They took. several items as evidence. So, Pearl. reportedly had nearly $300 in cash in. his pocket. Two different iPhones were. found in his car and according to the. affidavit, quote, on the driver's side.

floorboard, a small clear plastic baggie. containing suspected pink cocaine, which. was also collected. In the center. console of the vehicle, an additional. small, clear plastic baggie containing. suspected pink cocaine was collected. Now, we've talked about pink cocaine. before here on Cybar. a party drug, usually a mix of several different kinds. of drugs, ketamine, cocaine, ecstasy, and police say Pearl had just over 10. grams in his possession. So, Chris, you. know, that adds to this, right? The.

suspected drugs that were found. >> without a doubt. And it's not uncommon. they'll bring alcohol or they'll even. ask the the the victim, "What do you. like to party with?" You know, sometimes. they bring a bag of weed, but the 10. grams of pink cocaine is key. The other. thing that's key that you said, two cell. phones. Why would somebody have two cell. phones? Because they have their normal. phone that their people know and they. use and then many times they have a drop. phone. And that's I'm just guessing. where that conversation took place. perhaps. But the two cell phones, the. cocaine, the condoms, it's all part of.

that intent. It's all part of the crime. itself. And every one of those variables. play into why this individual was. arrested, why they were charged, and. ultimately why they were convicted, whether it be by a jury or a plea. This. case is closed. >> So going back to the affidavit, it says, quote, "On the passenger seat of the. vehicle in plain view, a white plastic. bag was located and inside there were. two black and gold magnum condoms and. one lifestyle condom and four new. blueberry vapes." Police say Pearl was.

read his rights, agreed to speak with. them. NBC 6 reports that Pearl admitted. to buying a vape for the girl, asking. her to be his girlfriend. He also. allegedly admitted to sending her nude. photos of himself, traveling to meet. her. Chris, it's exactly like you said. How do you elicit more information? How. do you elicit a confession? I know these. are allegations at this point, but oh. boy, wouldn't want to be uh his defense. attorney unless they're going to try to. argue police violated his rights in some.

sort of way. And and that's simply not the case. because obviously just hearing from what. I researched before we are talking and. then talking with you, this agency did a. phenomenal job at walking through this. case. Once the mom turned over the. phone, they were they were able to do it. without alerting the individual. You got. two styles of communication. So that. chatter had to learn how that. 15-year-old had been communicating with. Pearl and pick it up. So Pearl had no. idea that another person, another mind.

is could carry on the conversation. But. the flip side is that is his dopamine. drive to fulfill this fantasy was so. strong that he probably overlooked some. obvious signs that somebody else was. actually chatting. And then it goes back. to what you said in the front seat, you. know, having a bag. That's a probably a. shopping bag that he went and picked up. And I'm just surmising on the way to. this location to have sex with a. 15-year-old underage girl who he had met. again when she was 13 as a client. So. you have this work relationship. As you.

said before, the mom is probably. sitting, you know, 10 feet away or maybe. she went down the road. This individual. isolated her, build the rapport, set up. the trap, and then was ultimately going. to to fulfill his fantasy. And all those. things that were in his vehicle, that's. all part of the crime. It's all part of. the investigation. And and I'm convinced. if they didn't stop it and that was a. 15-year-old that this act would have. been done and with multiple condoms who. knows how many times. So after his arrest on July 30th, Pearl. was charged with those sex offenses that.

I mentioned. He was held until a bond. hearing the next day where he appeared. before Judge Mindy Glazer. >> Sir, can you afford to hire an attorney? >> Um I'm not sure how much an attorney. would cost on your own. >> Do you own your home? >> No, I don't. All right. >> I don't believe you qualify. >> Okay. You don't qualify. You have um do. you have the financial means to hire an. attorney? >> Um. so I it would be hard because I I work. on commission based. So.

>> do you have any savings? >> Not much. No. >> All right. I'll appoint the public. defenders office for you for purposes of. this first appearance hearing subject to. financial verification. >> So I need a moment to review the arrest. affidavit for probable cause. All right. I had a chance to review the arrest. affidavit. So, Miss Bas, what do you. want to say in the things? >> Yes, Ryder. Based on the four corners of. the A form, the state would be. requesting an extremely elevated bond. Um, this is the concern that we uh we.

are having with regards to the defendant. both for the safety of the victim in. this case. This is someone he has known. since she was 13 years old. She is now. 15. So, he's at least known her for 2. years, knows her travels, knows her. whereabouts. So, we are concerned for. the safety of the community, specifically the victim. We would be. requesting an elevated bond in the. amount of $500,000. with a GPS total lockdown component. Um, your honor, it the state is also. concerned that this defendant is in fact. a flight risk. As your honor mentioned. before, um, he is originally from New. Jersey and it appears he has clients all.

over the United States. So, um it's our. concern based on the information that we. have that he would he does travel to do. the hair and uh the hair stylist for I. guess a a-list celebrities. So, it's our. concern that he has the means to travel. outside of the state of Florida and um. >> he's going to travel to cut hair. >> Yes, your honor. In place. >> to style hair. So, how is that a danger. to the community? Well, considering that. his clients can range from apparently. 13year-olds to whatever age, we are.

concerned that the same way that he was. engaging in sending photos of his penis. to this third or 15year-old girl and. attempting to pay her for set or. attempting to gift her items and also. ask for sex. We are concerned that he. may have other clients that are underage. that unfortunately may be subjected to. the same kind of behavior by this. defense. I. >> understand. >> Okay. Thank you. Miss Corey, did you. want to say anything? Judge, Mr. Pearl has no objection to. only having adult clients. That's not an.

issue for him. Judge, >> the judge made sure that Pearl knew his. bond was going to come with some. conditions. >> Sir, I'm entering a stayaway order from. the 15year-old child whose initials are. AG. No contact with the alleged victim. either directly, indirectly, in person, in writing, by telephone, or through. third parties. and no contact with the. victim through social media or other. electronic means. You must stay at least. 500 feet away from the victim, her home, school and place of her home school and.

any place of employment at all times. Do. you understand the stayaway order, sir? >> Yes, your honor. >> No texting, email, Tik Tok, Instagram, or any Snapchat or anything else with. this child. In fact, you should not have. any unsupervised contact with any minor. children. Do you understand that? >> Yes, your honor. >> Okay. Thank you. So apparently uh an. attorney appeared virtually on behalf of. the victim's family, spoke briefly, and. then you have a public defender who was. assigned to Pearl uh for this hearing, objected to a large bond amount for the.

defendant. >> I see you, Mr. Santistan. You're the. victim's attorney. Did you care to say. anything, sir? >> Yes, your honor. Good afternoon. Um, I I. would echo um Miss Bayz's um concerns. and and on behalf of my client, the. victim and her family, we would ask for. um the same level of bond and uh. restrictions that Miss Bias previously. mentioned. >> Okay, Miss Cory, let me hear from you. >> There's an issue regard I don't know if.

there's any probable cause issues. Um. >> Judge, Mr. Mr. Pearl cannot afford a. $500,000 bond. That's excessive. He has. no prior record, judge. He does work for. a living. Uh I would ask if you would. just set a reasonable bond, judge, standard bond uh for Mr. Pearl. You've. already issued a stayaway order. He will. honor the stayaway order. He has no. minors living in the home with him, so. that will not be an issue. He's agreed. not to have any minor clients judge, and. that way that will not be an issue.

>> All right. Um did you have any probable. cause argument? Just with regard to the. unauthorized alien judge. >> Okay. With regard to count one, using a. com computer to solicit a child for. engaging in sexual conduct. There's. probable cause for that charge. It's a thirdderee felony. That bond is. 25. Actually, state wanted an elevated. bond. From what I read here, I think. you're right. But that's not going to be. 500,000. That's excessive. And it's not. this this is just a first appearance.

hearing. It's not um he hasn't been. found guilty of anything and he's. presumed not guilty. So, count one, I'll. set it at $5,000. Count two, using a. computer services for meeting a child. There's no enhancement. um for the unauthorized alien. So, Miss. Bias, would that be a secondderee. felony? Then it drops down one. >> No, I don't I don't think the the. unauthorized alien enhances it. So I.

guess it would it would a second degree. felony judge. >> Thank you. Count two will be $7,500. Let me just make a note of my findings. Count three. and four, there's probable cause for. sending count I'm sorry. Count three and. four, there's probable cause for sending. transmissions harmful to minors. And I'm. going to set a bond on count three at.

$5,000 and count four at $5,000. Count five, possession of cocaine. There's probable cause for that. They. found a bag of 2C, which is the pink. cocaine, and that's $2500. And then count six, contributing to the. delinquency of a M. I'm sorry, contributing to the dependency of a. minor. That will be a $1,000 bond. That's a. first-degree misdemeanor. So, um, let me see. Anything else? I'm not.

imposing house arrest, total lockdown. Sir, you've been warned. If you violate. this court's order, if you contact the. victim in any way or you pick up a new. law violation, you will get rearrested. and you will be locked up in jail until. the trial. Do you understand? >> Absolutely, your honor. >> Thank you. Okay, if I just if I may, I I. guess the state's concern at this point. is um the the possibility of him having. other minor clients that are victims. Is. your honor al is it advising him or. ordering him not to have any, you know,

clients come in even with parents? >> If there's a parent supervising him, he. can he can do whatever he does for hair. styling with a with a parent who wants. to utilize the services as long as. they're present. he cannot be alone with. any child under 18. He said already he. will not um have children as his. clients. That's up to him. It's probably. a wise move, but I mean I don't know if. there's an isolated incident or what, but it's certainly concerning um facts.

The facts alleged in this arrest. affidavit are quite concerning. Stay. away from the victim. You see the victim. has an attorney here who I'm sure is. going to do whatever he has to do to. protect his client's rights in addition. to the state. All right, we're done. Have a nice day. Thank you for coming. in. >> And in the end, Judge Glazer agreed that. $500,000 was too high a bond, lowered it. to 26,000 with those conditions that he. stay away from the victim, not contact. her in any way. But Chris, is that. enough? You know, how how often do you. see uh alleged predators trying to.

contact victims while they're out on. bond, while the case is pending or or is. going to be progressing? >> Well, thankfully, we don't have that as. an epidemic. They are so terrified at. this point. Many times are caught in the. system. Their face and their case is put. on public display like this. They want. to go deep six and not even be seen. And. don't forget, a bond is not set for. punitive reasons. A bond in America is. simply set for people to come back to. the court case. It's a it's a financial.

guarantee. But bonds are also seen as. many times people on the outside uh is. this case taken serious by the courts? And obviously the one who suggests a. half a million dollar bond, that's. because they're standing up for their. victim. And then the defense attorney. and who judge will say, "Well, what are. the likelihood of them coming back? He. lives in the area, blah blah blah, whatever the criteria was, 26,000." And. people are going to be offended by that. I think that's a very low bond, especially his status. But the bottom. line is only the courts, only the judges.

can answer to what bonds are set. We. have, we can object, we can give our. input, but ultimately the court decides, and that's what you have to go with. and. talk about that. According to court. records, Pearl apparently bonded out on. August 1st. He's scheduled for an. arraignment at the end of the month and. we will see which way this case goes. Chris Swanson, my gosh, thank you so. much for coming on. You are terrific, my. man. Thank you. >> Thank you, brother. Be safe. >> All right, everybody. That's all we have. for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank. you so much for joining us. And as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get.

your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll. speak to you next time.