GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. -- The New Zealand man shot by a Goochland mom when he allegedly attempted to break into their home to see her 14-year-old daughter now faces federal charges. Troy George Skinner, 25, appeared in Goochland court Monday morning where state charges were set aside.
In place of those charges, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) charged Skinner with production of child pornography and coercion and enticement in connection to the June 2018 incident.
Skinner will be processed out of the Henrico Jail and handed over to the FBI, according to Goochland Sheriff James Agnew.
Skinner was arrested in June after he flew to Virginia to meet -- in person -- a teenage girl with whom he chatted online.
The 14-year-old girl's mother shot Skinner when he attempted to break into the family's home, the sheriff said.
"He was not invited here, he was not expected here, he had been told in the past that the daughter no longer wished to communicate with him," Goochland Sheriff Jim Agnew said following the June incident.
Friend calls suspect anti-social loner
A long-time friend of Skinner’s described his gaming buddy as an anti-social loner.
“Not many people know him that well he’s got a really narrow group of people who know him he didn’t have a wide social circle whatsoever,” his friend said. “There’s a group of seven people who have known him for a long time and chat with him daily or semi-regular basis on game related stuff.”
His friend said he knew Skinner was traveling to the United States, but thought he was headed to the west coast for a visit with friends before pursuing his studies in law at The University of Auckland.
“The original plan was for him to meet up with some American friends in Portland, Oregon,” said Skinner’s friend. “He arrived in Los Angeles and was going to take a bus up I believe and the American friends were going to pick him up. When he didn’t show up they Googled his name and found the news report basically saying that he was in Virginia.”
“I’m so bewildered by what happened I can’t, I don’t know what was going through his head that was so outrageous. Everyone who knows him is like what the hell has happened? This is so out of character. He’s got no history of drugs, no criminal record. “[He] may be a little aggressive but nothing really crazy,” his friend added.
Sheriff: Younger daughter attempted to stop communications
The sheriff said Skinner first encountered the 14-year-old girl using the Discord chat service.
After three or four months of conversation, the girl attempted to end their communication.
“The younger daughter attempted to stop communications with him he was opening other accounts in an attempt to keep communications open and she did not cooperate with him,” said Sheriff Agnew.
Skinner then flew from New Zealand to Australia, Australia to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to Washington D.C. From D.C., he took a Greyhound bus to Richmond.
In Richmond, he stayed at Hosteling International USA, according to investigators.
When he arrived at the family's home, he yelled that he had hitchhiked 30 miles to the house and needed help.
"This was not random, not spontaneous, this was something very planned," Sheriff Agnew said.
He was carrying a knife, duct tape, and pepper spray -- that he purchased at the Short Pump Walmart -- when he arrived at the family's home.
“Then you hear about duct tape, knife and are like, 'What the hell is this?'” said Skinner’s friend. “He’d been on some medication had psychiatrists visiting his flat to discuss certain things apparently there were some antipsychotics, so this sounds like a mental break of some description.”
