The Lieutenant

He ran presidential motorcades. He escorted foreign heads of state through the streets of Washington. And for a month and a day, Lieutenant Matthew Mahl of the D.C. Metropolitan Police — 47 years old, 23 years on the job — groomed a boy he believed was fifteen. He talked about soccer games and homework. He talked about Italy, about schools over there, about a life together after he retired. He sent photos of himself in uniform. He sent photos from the fold-out couch in his office at police headquarters. He knew the age of consent in Maryland was sixteen, and he admitted to the boy he had everything to lose. Then he took the day off and drove ninety minutes to a house in Harford County where he thought the fifteen-year-old was home alone. Chris and Detective Chris Sergeant, the investigator who worked the chats, walks through the sheriff's report line by line, and watches from inside the sting house as a SWAT team cuts the lieutenant off in the driveway. What follows is a confrontation with a man who knows exactly how this works — and says nothing but eight words, over and over. A badge, a security clearance, and a secret a foreign intelligence service would have paid dearly for.   **Sponsored by:** **AirDoctor**: Breathe cleaner air every day with AirDoctor—get up to $300 off at https://AirDoctorPro.com using promo code HANSEN **Mars Men**: For a limited time, our listeners get 50% off FOR LIFE, Free Shipping, AND 3 Free Gifts at Mars Men at https://Mengotomars.com   **AquaTru**: Head to https://AquaTru.com  & use code HANSEN for 20% off your purifier and a 30-day best-tasting water guarantee  TruthFinder.com**.** To get the answers you’re looking for about the new people in your life, and to discover information on potential predators, go to www.TruthFinder.com/predators **Have A Seat** merchandise at https://haveaseat.dashery.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices