Ind. (WPTA) – A 25-year-old New Haven man who solicited children in a virtual reality game will serve no prison time after his plea agreement was accepted during a hearing Thursday
BACKGROUND:New Haven man accused of soliciting children in virtual reality game arrested
In December, Austin Bower was charged with two counts of child solicitation and dissemination of matter harmful to minors after he used Rec Room, a “virtual reality massively multiplayer online game,” to communicate with users who identified themselves as young as 10 years old, court records say.
The investigation began when police were sent a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in late 2024 after the gaming platform reported several messages sent by a user, court documents show. In February 2025, another tip came in from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Sony.
At first, the tips seemed unrelated because different IP addresses were given in each report; however, both were later tied to Bower’s home.
Concerns reported in the tips included the user:
- Asking a self-identified 11-year-old user to moan;
- Encouraging a user who identified themselves as 10 years old to engage in sex acts with their relatives and threatening to hack them when they did not comply;
- Offering a user gift cards if they spied on their mother;
- Instructing a user to engage in sex acts with their father; and
- Encouraging a user with an unspecified age to engage in sex acts with her 16-year-old brother.
Bower and his mother were home when police served a warrant, telling Bower’s mother it was for illegal internet activity, court records say. When asked who in her home would do that, she said it would be her son, adding that he “had been in trouble before” for something similar.
Bower denied knowing anything about the tips.
Police collected a PS5 from Bower’s home, which Sony later confirmed was permanently banned for “child porn activity,” court records show.
Last month, Bower pleaded guilty to child solicitation in exchange for six years on probation.
Online court records show the plea deal was accepted “based on surrounding circumstances.” It shows that two and a half years will be spent in the Allen County Community Corrections’ Community Control program.
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