FeedsSuspects arrested in child sex sting
More than three-dozen suspects were arrested in Van Buren Township recently as a result of phase two of an Internet child predator sting by township police and Wayne County sheriffs.
The operation ended with 38 arrests from Michigan and one from New Jersey. The men ranged from 19 to 57. Phase one was a three-day sting in March at a staged house in the township, while phase two targeted individuals who chatted online with volunteers posing as minors, but didn’t travel to the decoy location, according to officials.
“This Internet predator sting was unique. Most focus only on those predators that traveled, but not with this project. If you solicit a child for sex or send sexually graphic material to a youngster, you don’t escape prosecution just because you never got off your couch,” said Attorney General Mike Cox. “Identifying this type of Internet predator can be difficult, but the extra effort is worth it to protect children from those who seek to harm them by using the Internet.”
Police said more than nine special agents from the attorney general’s office worked to identify and arrest the suspects.
Typically, law enforcement only arrests those individuals who actually travel to a place, but this is the first to identify, arrest and charge individuals who used the Internet to arrange sex with a minor, but didn’t arrive for the meeting with the child.
“The first 27 suspects were the ones who showed up at the house, then several others sent things over the web, but never showed up,” said Jerry Champagne, director of the public safety department for Van Buren Township. “One guy didn’t even show up in March because two days prior to our sting he was arrested in Macomb County for the same thing.
“Another guy actually contacted a girl and convinced her to go to Europe with him, but he was arrested because the girl’s mom saw it on the computer,” Champagne added.
The 11 individuals have been charged with using the Internet to solicit sex from a minor, as well as disseminating sexually explicit material to a minor. A criminal charge is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty, officials said.
“This two-phase operation has been an unqualified success and taken countless children out of harm’s way,” said Sheriff Warren Evans. “The arrests made during phase two are equally as important as those made at the sting house because each suspect’s ultimate goal has been the same: sexual gratification through the exploitation of children.”
Since the start, the Cox’s Child and Public Protection Unit has arrested 195 Internet sexual predators, they said. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/ag for tips on safe Internet usage for children. Citizens can also report suspected Internet child predators at (313) 456-0180.
