John Desarli

John DeSarli Jr. arrived at the hotel used for the sting in his company van and with a shirt draped over his head just minutes after John Hunter was arrested, Hunter needing to be ducked into a nearby room. DeSarli initially did not comply with officer's orders to get on the ground until his leg was kicked and he was forced to. A deputy accidentally kicked him in the head. Chris Hansen described DeSarli as "combative and smug from the start." DeSarli was brought into the hotel room where Hunter was already waiting handcuffed and was asked by deputies what the passcode to his phone was. DeSarli refused to give the passcode, staring at deputies and saying "what's going on?" He was brought to the Polk County Jail and later interviewed by Chris, who described the interview as "one of the most shocking, surprising, and frustrating conversations I've ever had."

From the beginning of the interview, DeSarli showed obvious signs of being high on some sort of stimulant. His eyes were extremely wide, his gaze sporadic, his movements jittery, he had an obsessive need to bite at his fingernails, he was constantly sniffing, and his facial expressions were overly exaggerated based on his constantly changing mental state. When asked why here was there, he claimed that he had just joined the dating site a week prior, had met with three different women, and that there were no problems, which was not really an answer.

DeSarli goes on to say that he is "very, very, very, very good in IT, cruising the dark web and the deep web and going unnoticed." He claimed that he used his "dark web" skills, along his his many "inside sources," to determine that the police were wrong about the decoy being fourteen-years-old.

John DeSarli smugly laughing after saying something that doesn't make sense.

DeSarli claimed that a "source" informed him that he was speaking to a detective, not a minor. He said that it was "not his style" to walk away from the situation so he decided to show up to "prove a point." Thinking he found a loophole, DeSarli claimed that nothing he did was wrong because the fourteen-year-old was imaginary and he "knew the entire time."

He also claimed that he could do things on computers that 90% of people cannot do, followed by the claim that he "could see where that computer was that the detective was using." Chris asked where the computer was, since he could see its location. DeSarli said that the computer was in the hotel room. Chris responded by saying the computer the detective used was not, in fact, located in the hotel room. DeSarli, confused, asked where it was, to which Chris responded, "You tell me, you've got all the sources." DeSarli insisted that it was in the hotel room.

DeSarli insisted that he had no intentions of having sex with a minor. Instead, his intention was to show up at the hotel and tell the detectives, that he already knew about, "Thank you for trying to set me up, have a nice day." At this point, Chris called DeSarli's nonsense ramblings "a tangled web."

He then said, "So something that's available to 99 million people on the planet, is that wrong?" It is uncertain what that "something" means. He then stated that the police could look through the 700-800 people he's talked to online to see him playing his "little game." Again, it is uncertain what he meant by these statements.

DeSarli then demanded that he wanted the underage girl to testify in court. When Chris told him that it was a decoy, DeSarli, thinking he made a point, yelled, "I know this!" When asked why he would even get involved if he knew it was a decoy, DeSarli stated, "Because that's just who I am." Chris asked, "A predator?" DeSarli responded sarcastically that he was, then stated that he just wanted to show up and tell the police, "Listen, I know what you're doing. I see you back there, detective. Have a nice night." When Chris said that DeSarli's actions did not make any sense, DeSarli said that it only didn't make sense because Chris Hansen is married. DeSarli, on the other hand, sits at home and "don't do shit." That was why it made sense to him and not to Chris.

Chris asked how DeSarli's mother, as a police officer, would react to this. DeSarli stated that his mother would support him and "throw everything we can at this," "every drop, every little cent." DeSarli was adamant that his mother would support his defense. He also asked if Chris Hansen would do the same for his children if they got arrested for something, then said that Chris cannot be honest like he is. When Chris Hansen revealed his name, DeSarli claimed that Chris usually does investigations by actually having a child present, which did not happen here. DeSarli's legal theory was that if there was no actual child involved, he cannot be convicted because the person is "imaginary."

Chris asked when exactly DeSarli found out that it was a sting operation. DeSarli, seemingly making it up as he said it, stated, "uhhhhhhhhh, once I started seeing..." He was then interrupted by Chris saying, "...people tell you to get on the ground? When you were arrested?" DeSarli, confused again, asked Chris, "Are you ret*rded?" Chris responded, "No. I'm not the... I'm not the one here." DeSarli then told Chris to "use your head" before continuing his bunch of gibberish.

DeSarli then claimed that he would easily beat the charges because the girl was imaginary. He also claimed that he did nothing wrong because he never entered any room. Chris reminded him that he only didn't go into a room because he was stopped by detectives in the hallway. DeSarli said that was wrong because he had an opportunity to go into a room when he was walking back and forth through the hallway, but chose not to. Chris pointed out that he was only walking back and forth because he couldn't find the room. DeSarli then claimed that he was never looking for a room to begin with, causing Chris to ask him why he was at a hotel walking through the hallways if he was not looking for a specific room. DeSarli again claimed, "to prove a point." Chris asked him to clarify exactly what point he was trying to prove. DeSarli responded, "Just to show them that, listen, I understand you think, you know, that I believe that there really was a fourteen-year-old girl here. But really, you know, it's your detective." He then said, "Maybe I was just bored or something."

Upon a search of John DeSarli's company-owned van, detectives found a glass pipe with residue that tested positive for cocaine, explaining his erratic nature during the interview. Detectives also found a pill bottle that tested positive for heroin. John DeSarli was charged with:

Traveling to meet a minor for sex Use of a two-way communication device to commit a felony Transmitting harmful material to a minor (2x) Attempted lewd battery Possession of cocaine Possession of heroin Possession of drug paraphernalia

DeSarli posted a $25,500 bond with the condition that he wear a GPS monitor, not leave the state, be subject to random drug testing, have no contact with any minors, and be subject to a modified house arrest. He was eventually convicted on his charges, not including the drug charges, and sentenced on June 19, 2024 to 5 years in prison. His scheduled release date is March 17, 2029.

On March 22, 2024, after his arrest but before his sentencing for the crimes above, DeSarli was arrested again for Criminal Mischief Causing >$1,000 in Damage.

DeSarli is a fan of the games Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Final Fantasy XIV .