Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

Nebraska man convicted for sexual abuse of 13-year old
Pleasanton traffic stop breaks case

by Glenn Wohltmann

A former Nebraska man faces 25 years to life in prison for the ongoing sexual abuse of a 13-year-old Alameda County girl.

Todd Tackwell was 35 when he met the victim through an Internet chatroom in 2009. He was busted by a Pleasanton police officer who grew suspicious of the relationship between the two during a traffic stop.

A jury convicted Tackwell on Tuesday for continuous sexual abuse of a 13-year-old, along with a burglary enhancement for repeatedly breaking into the girl's home to have sex with her.

Pleasanton police Office Matthew Kroutil broke the case on the afternoon of July 23, 2010, when he stopped Tackwell's pickup truck because it had a cracked front windshield. The victim was in the passenger seat.

Kroutil suspected something was wrong after questioning the pair. He separated the two and continued questioning. Over the next several days, the girl revealed that she'd been in a sexual relationship with the defendant since early 2010, when Tackwell moved to the Bay Area.

Sexual contact began immediately, first at her mother's home in San Jose and then at her father's in unincorporated Alameda County. The relationship escalated quickly, with the defendant entering her bedroom through a window on an almost nightly basis. Tackwell will be sentenced June 22.

Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Jun 11, 2012 at 9:06 pm

Good work by an alert officer.