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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – A 25-year-old New Haven man who solicited children in a virtual reality game is wanted after a petition to revoke his probation was filed.
BACKGROUND:New Haven man accused of soliciting children in virtual reality game arrested
Austin Bower is accused of resisting police on Sunday, something that violates the terms of his probation.
In August, he was sentenced to six years on probation after pleading guilty to child solicitation. Online court records say the deal was accepted “based on surrounding circumstances.”
Bower was charged in December 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 kicked off after police received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The gaming platform reported several messages sent by a user in late 2024; then, in February 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Sony sent police another tip, court documents say. The tips seemed unrelated at first because the reports had different IP addresses listed, but both were later tied to Bower’s home.
The tips said the reported user:
- – Asked a self-identified 11-year-old user to moan;
- – Encouraged a user who identified themselves as 10 years old to engage in sex acts with their relatives and threatened to hack them when they did not comply;
- – Offered a user gift cards if they spied on their mother;
- – Instructed a user to engage in sex acts with their father; and
- – Encouraged a user with an unspecified age to engage in sex acts with her 16-year-old brother.
SENTENCING:No prison time for New Haven man who solicited children in VR game
When police served the warrant at Bower’s home, they told his mother they were there to investigate illegal internet activity, court records show. She was asked who in her home would do that and she said her son, adding that he “had been in trouble before” for something similar.
Bower said he didn’t know anything about the tips.
During their search, officers located a PS5 from Bower’s home, which Sony later confirmed was permanently banned for “child porn activity,” court records show.
If you suspect a child is experiencing abuse, contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or report child sexual exploitationhere.
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