CRUZ BAY — A St. John resident who allegedly went to Louisiana to have sex with an underage girl twice was extradited and booked into St. Tammany Parish jail today on charges of rape and sexual assault of a minor, according to Louisiana State Police.
Joseph William Haidler, 27, of Pine Peace, St. John traveled to St. Tammany Parish in December of 2019, according to a news release, and on at least two occasions, using an alias, solicited an underage girl for sexual acts, photographs and video using a popular social media application, the Louisiana State Police said.
Haidler is accused of picking up the victim from her home and taking her to a nearby location where he raped her, according to Louisiana State Police.
Troopers from the State Police Special Victims Unit in New Orleans began an investigation in May. They obtained an arrest warrant for Haidler in St. Tammany Parish, and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) in St. John, arrested him in early June.
Meanwhile, the reaction to Haidler’s arrest on St. John last month was fast and furious on social media tonight.
“No more pedos here,” Tetyana Hayes said on Facebook from St. Thomas.
“Sicko,” Paige Caccamo of St. Thomas wrote on Facebook tonight.
A Joseph H. Haidler of Pine Peace, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands was arrested for drunk driving on June 20, 2018, according to VIPD records.
Louisiana State Troopers began an extensive investigation in May 2020, which determined that the younger Haidler traveled to St. Tammany Parish in December 2019.
Haidler was taken back to St. Tammany Parish today where he was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail on two counts each of trafficking of a child for sexual purposes, third degree rape, aggravated kidnapping, and computer-aided solicitation of a minor.
The LSP Special Victims Unit works tirelessly to rescue and seek justice for the victims of crimes involving the exploitation of children and the trafficking of humans for sex or labor.
In this case, Troopers partnered with the Children’s Advocacy Center-Hope House. The Hope House is a child-centered environment where families in St. Tammany and Washington Parish can get the help they need after abuse has been reported. They provide a path to recovery and a bridge to justice for victims of abuse.
For more information, please visit https://www.cachopehouse.org/
If anyone has additional information on this case or has been the victim of sex or labor trafficking in the Greater New Orleans area, please contact the Louisiana State Police Special Victims Unit at 504-310-7012.