Hansen vs. Predator · Fairfield investigation
Michael Popovich
Also reported as Michael Joseph Popovich
Michael Popovich was investigated in Virginia after communicating with a Fairfield sting decoy without attending the sting house. He pleaded guilty and received 20 years with 10 suspended, followed by probation.
Photo: To Catch a Predator Wiki
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Evidence
- Attributed reporting
- Jurisdiction
- Fairfield, Connecticut
- Encounter
- Not established
- Decoy posed as
- Girl5
- Case number
- Not established
Personal details
- Born
- 1962
- Occupation
- Retired military service member
- Marital status
- Married
- Height
- 5′9″
- Weight
- 160 lb
- Eyes
- Brown
Charges & sentence
Electronic means for procuring minors for obscene material × 2
Convicted1
Sentence
Twenty years with ten suspended, leaving ten years to serve. Ten years of good behavior and supervised probation are reported; a separate probation duration was not independently established.
Attributed to the sources below. Consult the original record for full terms.
Case records
Hansen investigation2016 · Sentenced
Electronic means for procuring minors for obscene material × 2
Convicted1
Sentence · Sep 7, 2016
Twenty years with ten suspended, leaving ten years to serve. Ten years of good behavior and supervised probation are reported; a separate probation duration was not independently established.71
Reviewed sting-related legal outcome. No in-person Hansen confrontation implied. Guilty-plea date is not automatically the sentencing date; later reported release is not adopted as current custody. Independently reported sentence dated September 7, 2016; June 7 was the plea, not sentencing. Full numeric order retained, no current custody inference.
Case narrative
Aftermath
Because Popovich did not travel to Connecticut to the sting house, the Fairfield Police Department provided all the information to the Virginia Beach Police Department, who took over the investigation. A search warrant was obtained for Popovich's house on November 12, 2015, and on November 13, 2015, Popovich was taken into custody at the Norfolk International Airport. He admitted in his police interrogation to talking to Bailey and that he was aware that she was thirteen-years-old. He also acknowledged sending her countless pornographic links. In addition, he acknowledged that he had interacted with minors online but denied ever having sex with a child.
On June 7, 2016, Popovich pleaded guilty to two felony counts of Electronic Means for Procuring Minors for Obscene Material. Circuit Court Judge William R. O'Brien sentenced Popovich to twenty years in prison with ten years suspended.
2025 update
In May of 2025, Popovich was released after serving the majority of his sentence. He is currently on probation and is a registered sex offender for the next 10 years. He is also currently unemployed according to his RSO information. As Popovich was already retired from the Marine Corps at the time of the sting, his pension was suspended after sixty days of incarceration. But as his crime did not involve disloyalty to the United States, his pension resumed in full (at least $69,533.80 a year in 2025) after his release from prison.
Community-written, from the To Catch a Predator Wiki. Not independently verified, and it does not establish charges or court outcomes.
Michael Popovich, To Catch a Predator Wiki contributors; see revision and history links. · CC-BY-SA
Media
Sources
- 1Virginia Beach man investigated by Hansen vs. Predator sentenced for solicitation of minorsMichael Joseph Popovich, 55, received twenty years with ten suspended for two counts of electronic means for procuring minors for obscene material. He pleaded guilty June 7 and was sentenced September 7, 2016. The Fairfield investigation was referred to Virginia Beach.
- 286: The predator notable for getting the longest prison sentence out of any of the predators caught. on MegaphonePublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher title/description names this profile as the subject of the recording.
- 386: The predator notable for getting the longest prison sentence out of any of the predators caught. on SpotifyPublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher title/description names this profile as the subject of the recording.
- 4Michael Joseph Popovich sentencing and investigation referralIdentifies Michael Joseph Popovich and the Fairfield-to-Virginia Beach referral. He did not travel to the Connecticut sting. Reports two convictions, a June 7 plea and September 7 sentence of 20 years with 10 suspended.
- 5Michael Popovich (community wiki)Attributed community article. Revision date describes the article update, not a court or sting event. Full infobox, narrative sections, references and assets are retained in the private archive.
- 6Michael Popovich: occupation informationThe profile infobox lists these occupations. Undated roles do not establish current employment.
- 7Michael Popovich: legal outcome (revision 15298)20-year term with 10 years suspended:10 years to serve, followed by 10 years of supervised probation and other conditions.