Rochester prison staffer allegedly used photo of coworker in child solicitation attempt
(ABC 6 News) – Joe Solak, a human resources staffer at the Rochester Federal Medical Center, was charged with two counts of child solicitation, one count of engaging in electronic communication relating to sexual conduct with a child, and a charge of stalking–by false impersonation Nov. 6.
He is scheduled to make a first appearance on all charges December 20.
The Rochester Federal Medical Center gave the following statement to ABC 6 News.
“Joe Solak is employed with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) at FMC Rochester as a Human Resource Specialist. He is currently on Administrative Leave. With that being said, the FBOP fully cooperates with all law enforcement agencies and any possible investigations. “
According to court documents, Solak is accused of initiating a sexual conversation with an undercover officer pretending to be a child and using photos of another man to “be anonymous” while doing so.
Solak’s charging documents claim that in August of 2024, Rochester police began an undercover operation to catch child predators by creating posts by “juveniles” on social media sites.
The post had a photo of a young girl and referenced boys.
Police made several arrests between August and September using similar techniques.
RELATED: One arrested in child solicitation sting – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com
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According to court documents, an account from a 45-plus-year-old man with the username “comfortablynumb” messaged the fake account saying “boys need to mature.”
The account shared information about himself — that he was in his 40s, worked in corrections, and preferred talking to “younger people.” He later said he coached youth sports.
Rochester public schools confirmed that Solak previously coached at Rochester schools, but had been removed from the payroll after October 2022.
The undercover officer said they were 13, and “comfortablynumb” responded with a “shhh” and later said he was “crushing on” the undercover officer.
The man began to ask sexual questions, then suggested sex acts he would like the “child” to do.
The user also sent explicit photos, as well as pictures where the dash of a car were visible. The user sent some photos where a man’s face was visible, and Rochester police identified that man, who is not named in court documents.
Photos on the man’s social media profile matched the ones sent to the undercover officer.
On Oct. 22, Rochester police searched the man’s home and person for evidence that he had solicited the undercover officer, but when the man let investigators search his electronics, there was no evidence that he had ever used the site or that his phone number corresponded with the “comfortablynumb” account.
Police also noticed that the man’s car dash did not match the one visible in photos the user sent to the undercover officer.
Police concluded that the “comfortablynumb” account was using the man’s photos and persona to chat with the undercover officer, but was likely run by someone who worked with and knew him, based on details from the chats.
Court documents further allege that some of the chats from “comfortablynumb” came from a hockey arena in Dodge County, where Solak had been on that day.
Solak worked with the man whose photos were used to chat with the undercover officer, and court documents allege that his phone number was also connected to the messages to the undercover officer.
Police also matched the dashboard of Solak’s car to the photos, according to court documents.
On Nov. 1, police searched Solak’s home and took a statement where he allegedly admitted to using the “comfortablynumb” account to talk sexually with “females,” some of whom are 10-16 years old.
“Solak said that even after he learned their age he would continue to talk with them about sex,” court documents read. “Solak would go to other social media sites to get pictures of other males to send to people. He said he used other people’s photos so that he could be anonymous.”
—–PREVIOUS STORY—–
(ABC 6 News) – On Wednesday, the Rochester Police arrested a man as part of an undercover operation targeting online predators attempting to solicit sexual acts from minors.
48-year-old Joseph Peter Solak was arrested following an 11-week investigation, that found Solak used another person’s picture and name while exchanging messages with an investigator posing as a juvenile female.
Solak is now facing multiple felony charges, including:
- Solicit Child or Believe to be a Child Through Electronic Communication to Engage in
Sexual Conduct - Engage in Electronic Communication Relating or Describing Sexual Conduct with Child
- Solicit Child to Engage in Sexual Conduct-Prohibited Act
- Stalking – Aggravated Violations – By False Impersonation